


The Guardians of Niwen

by DeltaBlade



Category: Ori and the Blind Forest
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 43,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26031712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeltaBlade/pseuds/DeltaBlade
Summary: Three spirit guardians, descendants of the tree that Ori became, uncover a dark secret about the forest...and their own kind...
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. Prologue

_He has never spoken to us, but through generations his legend has been told. Come close now and listen, brothers and sisters, to the tale of our father. The tale of our great Spirit Tree._

_In a land far across the sea, named Nibel, another spirit tree lived. His light, like ours, kept nature vitalized, and his children basked and thrived in it for eons. But one night, a great and evil owl came and ripped his light and eyes from its socket, crushed it, and tossed it to the forest floor!_

_Without his sight and source of power, the forest became sick, and the tree was helpless to stop the death and suffering. What followed was a period of darkness in Nibel known simply as...the blindness._

_But in the forest's darkest hour, a lone spirit guardian arose to fight the decay! He rescued the tree's eyes, and together they restored the forest's three elements: water, winds, and warmth...and in the process, the evil beast was slain!_

_With his home restored, and with newfound purpose, that spirit set out on a long journey across the sea to Niwen, to our home. The suffering of this land had called to him, crying out for restoration! The old Spirit Willow, former mother of this land, had passed away, leaving her light shattered as wisps. From the beginning, he knew what he had to do. From the beginning, he knew his destiny._

_Having found the wisps and pieced the light back together, he then embraced it, joined with it, sacrificed his old form to become the towering perennial we see today! Yes, this heroic spirit was indeed our father._

_Never forget, my siblings, never forget: he did that for Niwen, he did that for nature, he did that for us!_ _Nowhere in the world can life persist without a spirit tree, without light, without us! We work, train, and pray that no guardian has to endure what he endured ever again! Remember this, my siblings...remember..._


	2. The Dark Forest

The inspiration for this story comes from Saran Kit and the webcomic that she made (just Google "Saran Kit Ori" and you'll likely find it right away).

**.** **.** **.**

The dark forest, decaying and foreboding, and on the edge of the Niwen spirit tree's influence.

A lone shard merchant sprinted through the undergrowth and into a clearing, chased by three massive and hungry wolves!

The howlers!

Before she could make it to the river that separated her from the lush and vibrant forest of Niwen, she tripped onto her stomach.

Knowing the weight of her garbs was too much, she laid down and awaited her doom.

Suddenly, a spirit spike flew directly over the wolves with a lone spirit guardian riding it.

Fir jumped off and tumbled gracefully onto the lead howler, proceeding to decapitate the predator with his spirit edge!

One of the howlers turned its attention to him, lunging at him with its teeth bared.

But before it could get too close, three spirit arcs flew out from the forest and pierced its face!

Distracted and in pain, the large wolf could do nothing as Fir leaped over it and took its head clean off.

But while he did this, the third and final howler charged at the helpless merchant.

Just as it was about to devour her, a second spirit spike fell from the sky and impaled itself through the predator's skull with impressive precision.

A second spirit guardian, the one named Keo, had thrown it, landing on the now dead canine's nose.

"Are you alright?" Keo asked the shard merchant.

Before she could answer, Fir asked a second question.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked accusingly. "Our light barely reaches this land!"

A third guardian appeared from behind Keo, this one with longer ears and a more feminine appearance.

"Please forgive us, guardians," the merchant said softly, bowing in respect to the three warriors before her. "We need this herb for our sick children. It grows on this land only…"

"Well, good for you that we came in time," said Keo with crossed arms.

He then turned to the guardian with the rather large and drooped ears.

"Mint, escort this one back to her clan," he ordered.

The one named Mint gave a quick salute before leaving his side. As both she and the rescued merchant made their way back into the lush woods of Niwen, Fir and Keo turned to the three dead wolves in the clearing.

"Three howlers!" Fir exclaimed. "Their pack got bigger and even closer to our forest. This is bad!"

"Collect their fangs," replied Keo, ignoring his companion's alarm. "We'll bring them to the Elders."

. . .

Mint, as ordered, was escorting her squad's latest rescue back to her clan.

This was her first mission, and she was rather proud of her performance thus far, but while walking, a startling realization came to mind.

"If I may ask," she started. "Did you say those herbs grew on that land only?"

"Why yes," the rescue answered. "You sound surprised?"

"Well, yeah...I mean, anywhere that the spirit tree's light doesn't reach is nothing but decay. At least...that's what I thought…"

"Oh no! I don't know what you've been taught, brave guardian, but things do grow out here all the time! Just not the kind of things you would expect, I suppose."

"Yeah...I suppose…"

They walked in silence again for some time.

"I just always thought we were the source of growth," Mint said finally. "The spirit tree, I mean."

"Ah! Then it's your lucky day!" said the shard merchant. "You've learned something new! Me too, I suppose: I'm learning a lot about what you've been spoonfed your whole life."

Whether or not that was meant as an insult, the spirit guardian decided to ignore the comment.

"The tree was always _a_ source of growth," the merchant continued. "But certainly not _the_ source of growth."

"Then what is our purpose?" Mint thought out loud. "If not to protect this world's only sources of life and growth?"

"Well, perhaps it's to protect the forest's inhabitants?" she answered. "You've certainly done that for me! Perhaps that is why you're called 'spirit guardians'?"

Mint thought about it some more, about how her escortee bowed before her and her squad earlier, almost as if in fear of them.

"Hey, you're not...afraid of us?" she asked. "Are you?"

The merchant suddenly donned a look of apprehension.

"Uhm, no!" she said skittishly. "Why would you ever ask something like that?!"

"Hey! Hey!" said her escort, stopping her and grabbing her by the shoulders. "We're alone out here. You can tell me."

Mint was being genuine. She was after the truth, even if it would hurt.

At first, the shard merchant just stared back at her with widened yellow eyes, but eventually she started to relax.

"Well-" she began.

But before she could continue, five of her kin appeared from the bushes.

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" the lead one interrupted.

"Did you get the herbs?" asked another.

"Uh, yes! They're right here," said the rescue.

"Good. Good," said the leader. "Thank you so much, guardian! We can take it from here."

"No! Wait-!"

But before Mint could finish, the six shard merchants had disappeared into the undergrowth, leaving her with a paw reaching out to nothing.

. . .

"They're afraid of me," Mint thought out-loud. "Afraid of us...why?"

She had climbed a tree to grab a peach to eat.

Tossing the peach from hand to hand, she walked back to the clearing to get another look at the decaying forest beyond.

"We're only here to protect them and the forest," she thought out loud. "Right?"

Eventually, she had made it back by the riverside; there she would munch on her fruit in silence, looking at the shallow water as it gently flowed past.

"Unless...it's not that simple," she said when she finished.

The spirit guardian then looked behind her at the lush and lively trees of her home forest, before staring into the void of the darkened woods across from her.

She then looked over to where their battle had been fought, eying the three dead howlers in the dirt.

"Please don't be more."

With a deep and anxious breath, she swam across the river.

. . .

Mint apprehensively trudged through the decaying undergrowth.

 _What am I doing?!_ she screamed internally. _Fir and Keo expect me to be back by now!_

But Mint was a spirit of curiosity, she had to know what lay beyond.

She looked around herself and settled on climbing one dead evergreen tree.

After swinging from branch to branch like a seasoned gymnast, she finally reached its peak...only to find that the tree next to hers was the tallest one in sight.

Without a second thought, she leaped from her perch, jumped a second time in mid-air, and then dashed the rest of the way over to it.

 _Thank goodness for sticky._ she thought, clinging to the dried bark with just her paws.

Every spirit guardian in Niwen had received that shard when they came of age; Mint had gotten hers just a few days prior.

She continued upward; there were no firm branches up this high either, so this was her only stable way of climbing.

Finally, she made it: the highest point! What could she see from here? What was she even expecting to see?

Behind her was all of Niwen, vibrant and beautiful.

In front was nothing but greyness and mist for miles.

Except…

Mint had to squint her eyes and shield her white pupils from the sun's rays, but off in the distance...could it be?

Green...grass! Hills of lush, green grass!

_...but no tree…_

She stared at the distant anomaly for some time, before pulling out a big, and rather thick, leaf. She had pulled it from a tree on her side of the river for just such an occasion.

She jumped and glided slowly to the ground. Once her feet had touched the dirt, she casually stowed the leaf away.

"Growth without a spirit tree," she thought out loud. "How is that even pos-?!"

**_*ROOOOOAAAR!*_ **

With her reactionary instincts, Mint dashed behind the nearest tree to evade the howler's sight.

She hid behind the trunk of the tree, crouching as she heard it draw near.

Her heart was racing. It must have heard her talk.

_Why did I have to open my big, STUPID mouth?!_

She hadn't mastered the spirit edge yet, she wanted to learn how to use a bow and arrow first. If only the contrary were true, then she might have had a chance in a fight with this thing.

She had to run, but it was blocking her exit back to Niwen!

Her only option was to sneak around it, but she had to wait.

Its nostril appeared from around the corner; Mint practically flattened herself on the tree trunk.

It pulled away; Mint took a tentative peak to see it looking the other way.

 _Does it actually have no idea?_ she thought panickedly.

While the howlers she'd seen so far were deep turquoise in color, this one was adorned with dark grey fur.

This one was different: a hunter.

She couldn't know if it was faking her out or not, but this could be her only chance!

Her heart still pounding, she crept out from her cover and eyed a rotting log; she could hide behind that next.

But halfway there, she snapped a twig!

The glowing spirit froze. She had been so fixated on the howler that she'd forgotten to look where she was stepping!

Its ear twitched at the sound, and Mint knew she only had less than a second.

She dove prone behind the log and held her breath.

Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest, she worried it could hear it!

It came closer, and she scuffled on her stomach right up against the log.

 _I'm dead._ she thought. _I'm dead. I'm dead! I'M DEAD!_

She started whimpering; immediately she covered her mouth.

_It's gunna look over and it's gunna eat me alive!_

Shaking uncontrollably in fear, she shut her eyes and planted her face onto the dirt as she felt its nostrils peak over her cover.

**_*SNIFF*...*SNIFF**SNIFF*_ **

It stepped over her, its hind legs stepping on the log as it passed. Mint opened her eyes, ready to stare death in the face.

To her shock, the giant wolf was walking away!

She remained still until it disappeared behind another tree.

 _It must've thought I ran off!_ she thought as she stood up, not daring to speak out loud again.

The young spirit then looked behind her. The path was clear...

...or so she thought.

She jumped over the log, but before she could even get close to the clearing, three turquoise howlers jumped in front of her!

"AAAH!" she squealed, stumbling onto her back.

Now hyperventilating, Mint got up and turned around…

...only to find the grey howler staring her down.

It wasn't just a hunter, they were all hunters: this one was their pack leader!

The scariest part were its eyes, glowing an enraged yellow instead of white.

Despite yellow-eyes likely being the more dangerous howler, there were still three behind Mint and only one in front of her.

There was only one sane option.

Mint whipped out her spirit arc and shot a trio of arrows at the pack-leader's head.

With it now distracted and clawing at its face in pain, she sprinted past it into the depths of the dark forest.


	3. The Meadow Beyond

Mint slid under a collapsed tree carcass, causing the lead wolf behind her to slam head-first into it. The rest reacted in time to run around it.

She was now way further into the forest than she'd ever wanted to be, and had no idea where she was going; she just knew she had to keep moving!

 _How am I going to lose them?!_ she thought as she gracefully hopped over a large stone.

Her leg muscles were on fire; she couldn't keep this up for much longer and she knew it.

But just as she was losing hope, she spotted a dangling vine to her right!

It was dead, but it looked sturdy enough to offer her a chance.

She dash-rolled across the ground toward it, narrowly avoiding the jaws of one lunging howler.

Once close enough, she leaped onto a nearby tree.

Once high enough, Mint leapt from the tree trunk and twirled mid-air towards the vine.

It was close, but she just barely managed to grab and hang from the bottom-end of it.

The four predators pursuing her gathered below; just as she began to climb up the vine, one of them jumped up and managed to cut a small gash through her leg!

"AAAGH! AAHA!" she shrieked in pain, pulling herself in and practically hugging the vine.

She kept her mouth agape in shock and continued to climb. She didn't dare look back down, as she could hear them continuing to leap up at her.

 _Oh gosh!_ she thought. _I'm trapped!_

But maybe not.

From her vantage-point, she was able to spot it: a steep ravine just over the next rise! They would have to give up the pursuit if she managed to make it across!

Not only that, but there just happened to be dangling blue moss between her and it, along with a small, glowing hive of fireflies dangling from a vine just beyond that.

She knew what she had to do.

Mustering what strength she had left, Mint leapt from her vine, grappled onto the blue moss, and flung herself towards the firefly hive.

She flinched upon bashing off of the hive, as it exacerbated the pain in her leg.

She then jumped in mid-air, dashed mid-air, pulled out her leaf, and finally began gliding towards the other side of the ravine!

She saw the four predators continue to give chase, continuing to look up at her without noticing the approaching cliff.

All but one managed to catch themselves before going over, the yellow-eyed pack leader crashing to the ground and possibly breaking its neck!

Mint just barely made it to the other side, landing hard on the cold and decaying surface.

She tumbled through the dirt, grabbing her injured leg.

After writhing in pain for a few moments, she mustered what energy she had left to cast a regeneration spell on the wound, healing it in one second.

The pain fading, she released the tension in her body and lay exhausted on her back.

A cool breeze blew over her chest and face, and she finally felt relaxed.

A breeze?...her leaf! She had forgotten about her leaf!

Rolling onto her hands and knees, the spirit looked behind her to see it stuck on a rock, flapping in the wind.

She reached out to grab it, but was too late; a sudden gust ripped it away from her!

Mint got to her hooves and chased it, but to no avail: it was too high up in the air to retrieve now.

But it had led her to a large clearing, and it didn't take long before she realized she was stepping on...grass?

Grass!

The trees above were lush with leaves again, and before her lay a vast and open meadow of rolling hills and blue skies!

"Wow," Mint breathed.

It was the place she had spotted from afar, and it was beautiful. Flowers of all colors were everywhere!

But still no tree in sight. Maybe it didn't have to be a tree?

Mint jogged until she reached the top of the first hill, hoping to see something behind it, but only a large lake filled her view.

And beyond the water were just more hills and more flowers!

 _Is there light in the water?_ she wondered, approaching the edge of the lake.

She peered over, seeing her reflection; the water was so still, it might as well have been a mirror.

She took a deep breath and dove in. It was somewhat deep, but she managed to make it to the bottom.

There were even fish swimming around, but no light to be seen!

She surfaced, taking a gasp of air upon doing so, before swimming back to land.

_It can't be!_

She plucked a flower out of the ground and examined it.

"It's just," she started. "A normal flower!"

In a last-ditch effort to avoid an existential crisis, Mint tossed the flower aside and dug her paws into the dirt it grew out of.

There was nothing special about the soil either; it was just well-hydrated soil allowing plant life to thrive in it!

"The world...doesn't need us!" she deadpanned, sitting on her knees and staring at the dirt in her paws.

She let the dirt spill out of her grasp and started hyperventilating again, grabbing her own face and staring down at the grass.

This awful, awful grass which was delivering such awful news! The realization was so terrible that she wanted to scream!

"The world doesn't need us!" she repeated. "Wha-what _are_ we?!"

Finally, she shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and smacked herself across the cheek.

"Enough!" she shouted. "Focus, Mint! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

She stood up and went back to the water, where she would splash her own face with it (both to remove the dirt she'd smeared on her face as well as snap her back to reality).

The spirit then went back to the hilltop and looked back into the forest that she came from.

"You need to get back to Niwen and tell the other guardians about this!" she said to herself. "Tell Fir and Keo. Tell the Elders...but how?...I can't go back in there!"

She thought for a moment before snapping her fingers.

"I...can teleport!" she continued nervously. "But I've never done that before."

But she had also learned how some moons ago.

"Well...now's as good a time as any to try!"

Was all she had to do is focus? Was she too far away?

What other option did she have?

She rubbed her paws together and closed her eyes. She began to visualize the spirit well at the center of the Wellspring Glades.

The more she imagined, the more it felt real, but...where was the ground?

She opened her eyes to find that she was floating!

Mint snapped from her trance and plummeted back down onto the flowers.

"Ow," she groaned, rubbing her butt. "Ok, don't get distracted. Noted."

. . .

The spirit well at the heart of the Wellspring Glades glowed to life as a spirit was being teleported onto it.

But it was such a common occurrence these days that hardly anyone took notice for more than a few seconds before going about their day.

Mint materialized spinning in mid-air; she then proceeded to collapse to her paws and knees shortly after.

"First time teleporting?" said someone to her right.

She looked over to see a Gorlek builder standing guard by the spirit well.

"Yeah," she replied. "That obvious, huh?"

He smiled back.

"The dizziness will get to ya. That's what they all say," he stated. "Don't worry, everyone has a first time for something, and it always gets better!"

He then approached rather rapidly and pushed her off.

"Now shoo! There's room for five, but you wouldn't want to be in any spirit's way, now would you?"

Mint just looked at the spirit well, then back at the Gorlek builder.

"Is it your job to make sure no one's on it for too long?"

"Well, one of my jobs: Grom was the builder before me, and he was both the watcher and the repair-Gorlek for the Glades!"

"Really?"

"Yep! 'Course, in my father's time there was but one spirit guardian to look out for and not hundreds...you would know that one as your current spirit tree."

He pointed at the towering spirit tree off in the distance.

"Wait," Mint started. "Your father...knew our father?"

"Indeed! In fact, he was standing right here when he transformed!"

"That-that's amazing!"

The Gorlek builder just shrugged.

"It was his post, so not too surprising if you ask me."

He then eyed the spirit well once more, as it began to light up again.

"Ah, I wish we could continue this conversation, but more are on their way as-per-usual! We should chat more sometime soon!"

"Uh, sure. Sounds like a plan!"

"Oh-kay spirits, you know the drill," he said as Mint began walking away. "Off the platform with ya!"


	4. Paw-to-Paw

Fir and Keo faced each other under the spirit tree, each motionless and holding a fighting stance.

Suddenly, Fir threw a front-kick at Keo's abdomen, to which Keo blocked with both forearms.

Keo backed off. That was just Fir testing the water.

Fir kicked again, Keo blocked again, but this time he countered with a backhanded strike directly at Fir's face.

Fir then swiftly deflected the strike with his wrist, following-up immediately with a straight-punch towards Keo's chest.

Keo backed off for a second time, and the two were still yet again, attempting to read each other's next move.

As always, Fir was the more aggressive. He started poking his fingers towards his opponent's eyes, forcing Keo to block each attempt.

On the third poke, Fir hooked Keo's blocking arm aside, then stepped in and attempted to punch him in the nose with the same arm.

Keo deflected the punch with his other hand before slamming his first hand onto Fir's chest, stepping in, and sweeping his leg, knocking Fir onto his back.

Now staring up at Keo, Fir quickly let loose a windmill of three kicks to Keo's chest, pushing him away and giving Fir the space to kick himself back up onto his hooves.

Fir then lunged forward, before suddenly ducking to throw a spinning leg-sweep. Keo dodged this by simply jumping up and letting Fir's leg pass under him.

But then Fir raised himself onto one paw and unleashed a flurry of round-kicks toward Keo's head.

Predictably, Keo blocked them all by raising one knee up to his elbow, creating a solid bar of defense.

But in doing so, he was now only on one hoof, just as planned.

Fir wrapped his tail around that leg, tripping Keo while pulling himself in.

Fir continued the onslaught, getting back up on one hoof while side-kicking Keo in the face with the other as he was still falling down.

As Keo was recoiling from this, Fir charged, but Keo stood upright just in time to meet him.

He deflected Fir's first flying punch, throwing his own straight-punch in return.

Fir deflected this too, proceeding to successfully strike Keo with four rapid straight-punches of his own, two to the chest, one to the neck, and the last one landing squarely on his cheek.

But as Keo recoiled again, this time he returned the favor with a hard-hitting spin kick. Fir, not seeing it coming, caught it directly to his chest.

The two backed off from each other once again, then raised their paws at each other as they returned back to their fighting stances.

After a moment, Fir suddenly let down his arms and stood up normally. He walked a few paces around Keo, never once breaking eye-contact, before wiping his nose with his thumb and lowering himself back down into a fighting stance.

This time, his arms were out but down, not covering his face. His hooves were wide for stability.

In response, Keo decided to loosen up as well, lowering his own fists to his side and standing upright before beginning to hop back and forth from one hoof to the other.

The two couldn't help smiling at each other in that moment, before Keo suddenly rushed at Fir.

Fir deflected several kicks and punches before throwing an elbow-strike of his own at Keo's face.

It was blocked of course, but not without Keo compromising his stomach; Fir took the opportunity to make space between him and Keo by pushing him away with a side-kick.

Finally, Fir jumped at Keo, catching an arm between his legs and bringing both of them down onto their backs!

Fir held Keo down in an armbar, both legs across his opponent's chest and neck.

"Looks like I win!" said Fir.

"Not...so...FAST!" said Keo, before swinging a hoof all the way around to kick Fir in the face.

He then used his larger body mass to force himself over Fir, eventually pulling him into a chokehold.

"Looks like the tables have turned!" said Keo.

"No fair!...You're so much...bigger...than I am!" said Fir, struggling with every word.

Fir finally tapped out, ending the sparring session.

"Good work you two!" said an Elder spirit from some distance away, practicing his technique on a tree-like wooden dummy. "It's a real treat to watch, let me tell you!"

Said tree-stump was worn and indented from years of use, but it still got the job done for the old master.

"Come on," said Keo. "Let's heal."

Fir and Keo then placed their foreheads together and placed their left paws onto each other's heads.

In a flash of green, any bruises and broken bones became a distant memory.

"You are our most skilled fighter Fir, no doubt," said the Elder. "But you must have more control of your mind; calm yourself! You own it, not the other way around."

"Well, when you call me the best, that gets kinda difficult," Fir responded.

The old spirit guardian gave the wooden dummy one last solid hit before stepping away from it and approaching Fir.

"Don't forget: the best warriors are the ones who stay humble," he said with his paws crossed in front of him.

"Master Hito, why even learn paw-to-paw combat? It's not like we can use this against howlers, you know?"

"What I teach you isn't always about fight practicality: see this mainly as a tool to develop your potential."

 _What does that even mean?_ Fir thought to himself.

Hito could see the confusion on his face, so he continued to explain.

"Let me rephrase," he started. "Self-improvement is a never-ending journey. You figured out how to surmount the rather difficult task of learning and mastering this style, now you must begin to realize that everything you do in your life is just like that. Everything in life is a puzzle that can be solved!"

"Paw-to-paw is meant to teach us how to think?" Keo chimed in. "Instead of what to think?"

"Exactly! Now, with anything, you can start asking yourself: how am I approaching this wrong? What can I do to make it better? Etcetera, etcetera. Does that make sense?"

"I see what you mean by humility," said Fir. "That's not gunna be easy."

"It never is. You're young; youth tends to make one arrogant, but now you have the tools to navigate this time in your life!"

Fir sighed.

"I suppose," he said.

Suddenly, the Elder looked past both of them.

"Ah, it appears your third-wheel has finally arrived!" he said.

Fir and Keo looked behind themselves to see Mint walking downhill out of the woods towards them.

"Why don't you three catch up?" said the old spirit before walking away. "Then we can discuss whatever it is that involves those severed fangs of yours!"

The other two spirit guardians nodded in response, before running over to their sibling.

 _I hope they aren't too suspicious._ thought Mint.

"So Keo," she said once they were within earshot. "What did the Elders say?"

"We haven't spoken to them yet," said Keo. "We were waiting for you."

_Crap._

"You know everyone who was present has to report to them, right?"

"Where were you for the past two hours?" asked Fir.

_What do I say? What do I say?!_

"Her clan was a lot farther away than I thought," she lied. "I just assumed you guys knew that and went on without me."

Perhaps shifting the blame on them would work?

"Huh, you have a point," said Keo. "We've never visited a shard merchant clan before, so I guess we wouldn't know how far away they are."

Mint breathed an internal sigh of relief. She wasn't ready to break the news to them just yet.

Could her discovery mean that spirit trees are the reason decay even exists? That by the time a spirit tree dies, the land is too dependent on it to take care of itself?

_Is there a point when the land can never heal itself again?_

Permanent decay...because of her kind?! The young spirit nearly shuddered at the thought.

She kept composed though, as best she could anyway, as the last thing they needed to hear was that.

Especially not before a meeting with the Elders.

"That's actually crazy," Keo continued. "That they come this far just to sell shards to us!"

"We're too important not to make the trek," said Fir. "Without us, they'd likely all be dead!"

"Heh, heh...yeah," said Mint, barely hiding her disagreement.

"Well come on, then," said Keo. "We shouldn't keep the Elders waiting!"

**...**

Author's Note: Hito is based off of an OC drawn by omegapainter on DeviantArt; he is the first of five Elders that will be making an appearance in this story! ALSO, huge props to anyone who can name the martial art styles used in the opening fight scene! ;)


	5. The Elders

Author's Note: Hito, Quito, Yaiger, Zar, and Issen are all OC's drawn by omegapainter on DeviantArt! Feel free to check them out! ;)

 **.** **.** **.**

Four Elders sat in a semicircle within a calm grove of old trees and white flowers. This was their meeting area, situated not far from the spirit tree.

"How was their sparring session, Hito?" asked the one with a leaf as an eye-patch once Htio, their fifth, sat down amongst them.

"The usual, Zar," Hito replied. "The best paw-to-paw you'd have ever seen! You always miss out."

"Oh, I've seen the best already, friend: when you and I used to go at it, remember?"

"Not sure if I do. You did hit me in the head a few too many times!"

As the two of them shared a laugh, a guardian wearing an orange necklace chimed in.

"You two can compare sizes later," she said good-naturedly. "What was it that they wanted to speak with us about?"

"Just some fangs they collected, Quito," said Hito.

"Fangs? From what creature?" asked a spirit wearing a sleeveless vest, made of a faded-blue fabric.

"A howler, I think. They wouldn't say why they were out fighting howlers, but they got it from a howler. Sorry Yaiger, that's all I know."

"Howlers have never appeared in Niwen ever since father revitalized the land," said Quito. "That would mean they were out by the dark woods."

"What in the world would draw them over there?" asked Zar.

"How about we let them speak for themselves?" said the fifth Elder, their leader. "Instead of having pre-drawn conclusions before they can arrive?"

She sat with a wooden staff in her lap, calmly looking over to where Keo, Fir, Mint were coming from.

"Yes, Issen," said Zar. "My apologies."

 **.** **.** **.**

"You've still got the fangs?" asked Keo.

"Right here," said Fir as he pulled out the glossy, white teeth.

"Geeze, did you really have to cut out all six?!"

"You said, 'collect their fangs'. I was just being thorough."

"Here, let's...each hold two…and just let me do the talking, ok? Unless, you know, they ask one of you to say something."

The three guardian spirits, now each holding two fangs in their arms, approached the five Elders and lay the trophies down before them.

The three then sat down on their legs while facing them.

"I didn't know howlers had six fangs," said Issen.

"There were three, ma'am," said Keo. "They were about to kill a shard merchant, one of the forest's own."

"Three?!" exclaimed Yaiger. "I don't recall ever seeing more than one at any given time."

"Their pack is growing, sir, and they get closer to our forest with each passing day."

"Well if it's a war they want," started Zar. "Then it's a war they'll get!"

He slammed a fist on his knee.

"Zar? Isn't that a bit of a hasty conclusion?" asked Yaiger.

"Let me rephrase: we should be ready to defend ourselves, all of us. I don't need to remind you that a howler was the reason I lost an eye!"

Mint nonchalantly scratched at her own right eye, inwardly anxious of how the same could have happened to her not too long ago.

"I'm with Zar on this one," said Hito. "Of course attacking them out in the dark forest beyond would be suicide, but as long as we're prepared, they won't stand a chance if they even try to enter Niwen!"

"Well, good," said Yaiger. "As long as we don't go to where they are, it's not a bad idea."

"Speaking of the dark forest," Quito chimed in. "If you fought howlers today, that would mean you were out near it. Why were you over there?"

"A shard merchant had ventured in, ma'am," Keo repeated. "She was retrieving an herb for her sick children...said it only grows in the dark forest."

"Interesting...I didn't know anything could grow out there."

"Huh...you know, now that you mention it, that is quite strange. Perhaps our light reaches out far enough to help smaller plants grow out there? Unfortunately, I didn't ask her about it."

"And you just let her go?" asked Zar.

"No sir. I had Mint escort her home."

Mint tensed up slightly. She was afraid the conversation would come to her.

"Well, why don't we hear from her?" said Zar. "Tell us young one, what did you two...discuss...along the way?"

"Were these herbs even real?" asked Quito.

Mint could remember, at least, the dull-green plants sticking out of the shard merchant's backpack.

"They were real," she responded.

That much was true, so it was rather easy to say. The next part was going to be difficult.

Should she tell them the whole truth? How she ventured out on her own and found a possibly forbidden land? Or lie to their faces?

It's possible that those herbs were grown because of the spirit tree's faint influence, but the discovery that it led Mint to was undeniably not the doing of any spirit light at all!

And what of the fear in the shard merchant's eyes? What if Mint was being kept from such a damning truth on purpose? Perhaps by the very spirits before her?

The merchant was about to open up to her too, but was snatched away before she could say anything.

 _What would she have told me?_ she wondered.

Everyone continued to look at her, even Keo and Fir from the side as they all expected her to continue speaking.

"And most of our trip was just me and her discussing where to go," she went on, keeping an outward calmness. "Her clan was a lot further away than I thought it'd be, and like Keo said: I think the herbs grew because of minor influence from the spirit tree."

"Interesting indeed," said Yaiger. "I suppose the location of these herbs is just one for the record-books then."

"And back to the main issue of the howlers," said Issen, acting as moderator. "Your escapade to rescue an inhabitant of Niwen has gifted us with valuable information."

"We can start assigning patrol rotations in the meantime," said Hito.

"Ugh, administrative work," Zar lamented. "The negatives of being an Elder!"

"It's part of the job, Zar," said Issen. "But I'm sure Hito can find you a more exciting spot."

"He'd better!"

Issen then stood up with her wooden staff.

"In the meantime, Fir, Keo, Mint," she said as the other four Elders stood. "You three are dismissed."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Keo before the three of them stood up and began turning away.

But before Mint could turn away, a paw came to rest on her shoulder from behind.

"Mint? A word, please?"

She turned around to see it was Zar who was addressing her, his singular eye cold and unwavering.

"How was your first mission?" he asked. "I ask because you just seem a little...shook."

Mint took a deep breath.

_Don't deny it!_

"It's just nerves, I guess," she replied, placing a paw behind her head. "The...responsibility of it all."

"Well then, it's a good thing you understand," said Zar. "We all certainly have a duty to protect the forest."

He then pointed up at the spirit tree in the distance.

"And to protect his legacy!" he continued. "Remember: nowhere in the world can life persist without a spirit tree, without light, without-"

"-Us," Mint finished.

"Exactly! You get it!"

It was the motto she was taught since the day she was born. Of course she "got it".

"How do we know that?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Excuse me?"

 _What did I just do?!_ she thought as she inwardly began to panic yet again.

Another deep breath.

_Maybe it's not such a bad thing to ask…_

"I mean, you've been alive far longer than I have," she started. "Has a spirit ever seen a place where...things grew just fine without spirit light?"

"Huh...well, not that I know of," Zar replied. "All I know is that if a spirit ventures too far away from the influence of spirit light, he or she likely won't survive!"

_But I did._

"We only know of one guardian spirit who managed to do it," he went on. "And that was our father."

They both looked back at the distant tree.

_And he did._

"We work, train, and pray that no guardian has to endure what he endured ever again!"

Zar then turned Mint back around and made eye-contact.

"He did that for us, Mint," he said. "He did that for us. Never forget!"

This was getting weird, but she played along to avoid suspicion.

"Right!" she responded, nodding her head. "I won't!"

"Good," said Zar, releasing her. "You'll be one of our best, Mint. I know it!"

She saluted this time, and he finally walked off.

Once he was far enough away, she donned a demeanor that better reflected how anxious she was inside, bringing her paw down to her mouth in a fist and backing away slowly.

 _The Elders really don't know._ she thought as her eyes widened. _I know something they don't!_

She started nervously pacing back and forth. Would that exchange have been so weird if she didn't know either?

"It doesn't add up," she said to herself. "We aren't protecting anyone but ourselves...we're perpetuating a cycle!"

She looked back at the large perennial plant.

"A cycle of codependency...I can't tell anyone, not even Fir or Keo; they'd sooner call me a heretic than believe me!"

She focused-in on the glowing, orange orb high atop it.

"I have to take matters into my own two paws!"

 **.** **.** **.**

"Where is Mint?" asked Fir.

"Zar wanted to speak to her in private, remember?" Keo replied.

The two of them were lounging under a peach tree, having harvested some of the fruit for themselves. Keo was sitting back on it while Fir sat crouched, rolling a peach seed across his fingers.

"I know, but that's one long conversation they're having."

"She doesn't have to hang out with us all the time, Fir. Is that a soft-spot that I'm sensing?"

"No, that's disgusting. _You're_ disgusting!"

"We're all siblings, Fir. At some point you've gotta let your romantic side out!"

Fir said nothing, he just threw the seed at Keo, hitting him squarely in the chest.

"Hey! Relax, brother!" Keo laughed. "You're making me nervous."

He took a cursory glance down at the seed before doing a double-take.

The flowers by his legs were wilting. He broke his relaxed pose in surprise.

"Hey, you seeing this?" asked Keo.

"Yeah, and I don't like it!" Fir replied.

Suddenly, a female spirit shrieked in horror not too far away.

"Look!" said another, pointing behind them.

As shouts and screams of pandemonium overtook the field of guardian spirits, Fir and Keo rushed to look behind the peach tree.

What suddenly caused a panic? A large creature? An approaching storm?

"Oh no," said Keo.

The spirit light was gone from the tree. Its leaves were rapidly falling off and the lush undergrowth around it was beginning to dull.

"What happened?" said Fir. "How?!"

"Don't you go panicking on me too, bud," said Keo. "Spirit light doesn't just instantly disappear. Let's see if we can find traces of the thief!"


	6. I Want Answers!

"You're kidding..." said Fir.

"You're sure it was her?" asked Keo.

"With my own eye, I saw it!" said Zar. "Mint ran off with it, into the woods that way!"

He pointed at a trail of decaying grass that was slightly greener than the rest.

"See how the light restores what's in its proximity?" Zar continued. "Follow that trail and she'll surely be found!"

"Such a disappointment, too," said Hito. "Weren't you just telling me about how much potential she had?"

"I've been wrong before," said Zar. "But never like this..."

"It makes no sense," said Fir. "What would push her to do this?"

"She's with the howlers...she has to be! On the eve of potential invasion, she removes our best defense mechanism!"

"No! NO! That's ridiculous! She's one of us. What could howlers possibly offer her? Not get eaten for a month?"

"They can't even talk to us," Keo deadpanned.

"One thing is for certain: she cannot get away!" said Hito. "Find her and return the spirit tree's light as soon possible!"

"And when you find her, bring her to the woods," said Zar.

"The woods that used to be silent?" asked Keo.

"Yes, and be sure to bring her before you put the light back."

"What?!" said Hito. "Zar, are you insa-?!"

"The other's have already agreed!"

Hito stepped back in shock.

"You put it to a vote?...And they all said, 'yes'?"

"She needs to be made an example of, Hito! What she just did is unacceptable!"

Hito nodded in agreement after a moment, though his look of concern remained.

"Very well," he said soberly. "Fir, Keo, meet us at the woods once Mint has been apprehended."

"What about you?"

"We're going to calm the public. They'll trust Elders when they say they have spirits on the job! Now get to it!"

The two younger spirits saluted their Elders before all four ran their separate ways.

"What did Zar mean by Mint being, 'made an example of'?" asked Fir as they followed the trail.

"I don't know," Keo replied. "But I hope she'll learn how irresponsible this is!"

. . .

Mint scurried off alone through the decaying forest, carrying away the spirit tree's light.

Finally, she stopped at a clearing and set it down.

It must be destroyed... she thought as she pulled out her spirit arc. The cycle must end!

Slowly and uneasily, knowing the gravity of what she was attempting to do, she took aim at the small, glowing orb.

_That's not going to work._

The young spirit froze, moving only her eyes and head.

"Who said that?" she asked into the ether.

_The glowing orb in front of you._

She whipped her head back towards the light.

"You can talk?!"

_Telepathically, but yes. My name is Seir._

Mint dissolved her bow and arrow, but wasn't sure what to do next.

_Breathe._

She took a deep breath, albeit one of frustration considering it had to tell her to do so. Regardless, this was her chance to get some answers.

"Why do you exist?" she asked finally.

_You mean, why do we exist? We exist to protect nature and all its inhabitants._

"No! Don't throw that crap at me!" she shouted back. "I've seen the meadow beyond!"

She pointed an accusatory finger at Seir.

"The world doesn't need you!"

_But you need me._

Mint's fierce look instantly fell to one of confusion and dread.

"What?" she said, sinking to her knees in front of the light.

_You and your kind only exist because of us. Without us, you wouldn't be able to survive._

"Us? There are more of you?"

_Indeed. We scatter the globe, and without the expedited growth that we provide in symbiosis with our own creation, that being you, all guardian spirits would perish._

"Expedited growth? So, you admit it! The planet can grow without you!"

_But you miss the point: even in that world, your kind would go extinct! It is too slow for your biology!_

"Well, maybe this isn't about us! Maybe this is about you being selfish! Stop pretending this about the planet, you just care about yourself!"

She pulled out her spirit arc and fired three arrows into Seir, point-blank. All of them bounced off harmlessly.

_I told you it wouldn't work._

Mint dissolved her weapon and screamed through her teeth in frustration.

_I am not your enemy, Mint._

"How do you know my name?!" she said as she grabbed the orb in anger.

Suddenly, the young guardian spirit was zapped by a burst of energy from Seir. It knocked her onto her back, leaving her dizzy in the low-lying ferns.

She felt a rush of emotions and heard dozens of voices in her head, then silence.

"What did you just do?" she said wearily as she stood back up.

It was oddly difficult to find her balance. With a paw on her head, she turned back to Seir.

"What did you do to me?!"

_I gave you his memories._

Mint's eyes widened. She could only be talking about one person.

"Dad?...Dad's memories?!"

_Yes, and they will be able to explain more than I can in the limited time we have left._

"What do you mean? We have all day!"

_Not when those two arrive._

The spirit stole a look behind her. She could hear nothing, but Seir could sense it.

Fir and Keo, they were coming for her!

"No," she said, turning back to the spirit light.

_You will gain his powers when the need arises, and see specific memories when the situation is right._

The forest still rotating around her, Mint stumbled onto all fours.

"Why?!" she growled.

_All will be explained in due time, Mint. Just be patient and listen..._

Before she could say another word, two spirits burst into the clearing behind her.

"Mint! Stop right there!"

She looked back to see Fir pointing his spirit arc directly at her.

"Step away from the light!" he ordered. "Nice and easy."

Mint obediently raised her paws and sidestepped away from the glowing orb.

"On your knees," he said once she was far enough away.

"Fir, you have to understand-" Mint started as she lowered herself.

"Shut up! I don't wanna hear a word!"

He began to approach her as Keo went to inspect the spirit tree's light.

"Just let me explain!"

"There's nothing to explain."

Without warning, Fir dissolved his spirit arc and socked her across the cheek!

"Gaah!" Mint squealed in surprise. If the forest had been spinning before, now it was tumbling!

Fir then quickly snatched one of her arms and pinned her flat onto her stomach.

"Ow! AAAOW! Fir! STOP! PLEAHESE!" she yelped into the dirt as he twisted her arm behind her.

"Why should I?!" he yelled back into her ear. "You stole our source of power and caused a panic, right as howlers were at our doorstep!...You're a damn traitor, Mint!"

On the word "doorstep", he kneed her in the abdomen, causing her to squeal in agony as she instantly lost her breath.

While she was disoriented, he tore loose a nearby vine and tied her paws together behind her back.

She struggled and fought against her new restraints as Fir lifted her to her hooves. As he held onto her, he forced her towards their older brother.

"Keo, please!" she wheezed. "Please! I can explai-uck!"

Keo snatched her throat and lower jaw, interrupting her. He stared into her eyes with anger and disappointment.

"Save it for the elders," he said coldly.

Mint's heart sank and her ears drooped down even more than usual; Keo was always one to listen, but now even he refused!

He then ripped his paw away, allowing Mint a few pained breaths.

"We're done here," he said. "Gag her, then grab the spirit light. I'll walk her to the woods."

"You got it!" said Fir with a quick salute, proceeding to unceremoniously shove Mint back to her knees.

She was now as terrified as when she was jumped by the howlers.

"No! NO! They won't listen!" she cried desperately. "The won't-mmh!"

Fir had grabbed another vine and tied it around her mouth, as ordered, impeding her speech and muffling her voice. She gave one final screech of frustration from underneath it.

As Fir picked Seir up, Keo turned around to see Mint looking up at him with the most sorrowful look he'd ever seen.

It pained his heart to see her in such a pitiful state.

He wrenched her up nonetheless, summoning a spirit spike and pushing her by its tip towards the once-silent woods.

. . .

The trio's long and arduous hike ended upon their arrival to the woods, where a crowd of spirit guardians had gathered.

In front of all of them were four of the elders, and in front of them was Zar.

He snapped his fingers and pointed authoritatively at a spot on the ground in front of him, indicating to Keo to bring Mint over to him.

With a barely audible squeak, she was knocked flat onto her stomach just in front of the one-eyed spirit.

"Get up," he said gruffly.

Slowly, she got her knees under her; it wasn't the easiest task considering she couldn't use her arms.

Just as she raised her upper body, Zar snatched her face and forced her to look him in the eye.

"You had everything, Mint," he said. "You had everything, and you threw it all away!"

She squeaked again as he gripped her neck tightly with the same paw.

"You were born among the most intelligent and powerful creatures in the forest!" he continued. "You were lucky…"

_Were?!_

He released her throat, but then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up, displaying her to the crowd.

"The spirit tree's light is the sacred lifeblood of our people and the forest!" he said to the crowd. "Turning against it, means you turn against us!"

The other four elders parted the crowd, revealing a lake of bubbling, grey fluid. Mint's heart once again sank to the pit of her stomach.

She'd heard stories about how the water in these woods was once a steaming-hot soup, one that would pull you in, drowning and melting you at the same time!

She whipped her head around to look at Keo, her eyes wide and pleading.

To her shock, both he and Fir held confused looks: they weren't expecting this.

"This water, pure just a few hours ago, is now the putrid, bubbling cesspool that you see before you," said Zar, dragging Mint towards the edge.

Pushing against the dirt with her legs, the tied-up spirit released desperate and muffled pleas from under her gag.

"Mint now gets to perish in her own creation!"

**_...To Be Continued..._ **


	7. A Flash of Memory

"Mint now gets to perish in her own creation!"

To her surprise, Zar stopped some distance away from the liquid, before snatching the fur atop her dome and forcing her eyes toward the ground.

"If you think we like doing this, you're mistaken!" he hissed into her ear. "But you're a danger to yourself and everyone around you!"

Then he shoved her forward, but not far enough for her to fall in.

She landed on her knees, confused. Did he expect her to just walk in?

"You brought this upon yourself!" Zar finished.

She looked behind her to see everyone taking a step backwards.

Suddenly, something burst from beneath the steaming, grey substance.

Mint recoiled onto her back in surprise and terror: before her was a luminescent snapping vine!

It was the only living thing known to be able to survive in such a harsh environment, and it looked hungry.

Now shot full of adrenaline, the young spirit squirmed to her hooves and awkwardly ran away from the foul creature…

...only to be palmed in the nose by Hito, knocking her onto her back. He kicked her back towards the center of the semi-circle that had formed around her.

Mint looked up to see his face was one of pure sorrow.

Then, the sensation she dreaded arrived: she felt the snapping vine grab hold of her leg and start dragging!

Two more had surfaced as well.

The crowd watched in morbid stupor as she was pulled towards her doom, her muffled screams growing louder and louder with every inch.

"Don't help her!" Zar shouted. "Unless you wish to be next!"

The other two sentient, purple vines wrapped themselves around her too, and in her struggle, the gag came loose, allowing her screams to be released at full volume.

No one was coming to save her; her screams were purely ones of terror and not cries for help.

Just as she felt the heat of the bubbling liquid touch her hooves, she shut her eyes and prepared for the end.

But just as she felt herself succumbing to the darkness, she felt an immense surge of energy from within.

She had no idea how, but she was suddenly fully unrestrained!

Her eyes still closed, the spirit brought her paws up to her face, curling into a ball in fear.

No longer being dragged, she finally stopped screaming (opting instead for a horrified whimper).

A faint humming could be heard all around her.

She peeked out through a pair of fingers to see a bubble of light surrounding her.

As quickly as she saw it, it receded back into her. The humming noise ceased, replaced by shocked and confused murmurs from the crowd.

"Wha-wha-?!" was all that could come out of Mint's mouth as she got back to her knees and stared at her paws. "Wha-wh-wh _-what?!"_

She was just as confused as them. Her restraints all seemed to have vaporized, and the three snapping vines behind her sank back into the grey lake with their top halves burned off!

Her breaths were short and shallow; in her head, she was still convinced she was about to die.

Where had that power come from?! She'd never practiced anything like that before!

"She's more dangerous than we thought!" said Zar. "Push her in!"

The crowd charged her, everyone brandishing some kind of weapon.

"AAH! NO! PLEASE!" she shrieked in vain, nearly tripping and falling in by herself.

Just as all seemed lost for Mint, a lone guardian spirit swooped in on a vine and snatched her up!

As the crowd of shocked spirits receded from her, she looked up to see that it was Keo holding onto her.

"Fir!" he yelled, before tossing her over the grey cesspool towards his brother. "Get her someplace safe! I'll meet you there!"

Fir gracefully caught Mint in mid-air as he spoke.

"Roger that!" he replied, grappling onto some blue moss and carrying his sister away.

Keo bashed off a lantern and out of sight as Mint and Fir traversed away through the dying woods.

Finally, the two of them landed on a rocky ledge to catch a breather.

"We'll wait for him here," said Fir. "They'll try to capture him too now. Hopefully he can lead them astray."

No response. He looked over to see Mint standing with her back to him.

"Mint?" he started. "How in the world did you-?"

He stopped when he noticed her paws were clenched tightly into fists.

It began to rain.

"Oh...Mint, I-" he said as he reached out and grabbed her arm. "I don't know what to say-"

"DON'T...touch me!" she growled, swatting away his paw and whipping around to face him.

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"Oh, you're sorry? You're _sorry?!"_

She shoved him in the chest.

"That's it?!"

"I know you're angry-"

"No! Don't even start!"

Lighting struck and thunder clapped.

Mint's eyes flooded with tears as the rain became a downpour.

"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL!" she screamed, shoving him again. "Neither of you even bothered to listen to me!"

"Mint! You stole the light! How else do you expect us to respond?!"

"Shut UP!"

This time, as rushing air began to blow past their perch, Fir caught her arms in his paws when she went to shove him again.

"We screwed up, okay?!" Fir yelled, having to shout over the wind. "Are you happy?!"

The young spirit stayed silent as he held her close, her anger slowly dissolving into sobs.

"We just gave up our old life for you!" he continued. "That's not sorry enough?!"

Mint started quivering from both the cold and her emotions; her glowing fur had already become saturated with water, and she felt the raindrops start to roll down her face and body.

"The least you could do is be a little more grateful," Fir finished in a softer tone, but still loud enough to be heard over the weather.

She fully broke down when he said that, resting her forehead on his chest and crying into it.

He released her arms and the two of them hugged it out for some time. The storm slowly passed, and so did the most turbulent of their emotions.

"Why would you do it?" she finally asked. "Why? I didn't ask you to…no one asked you to..."

"...Because it wasn't right..."

Mint and Fir both looked up to see Keo sitting at the edge.

"That's not like us," he continued as he stared into the fog. "We don't...execute...other spirits!"

"How long have you been sitting there?" asked Fir.

"Long enough."

"Were you followed?"

"Don't think so, but we shouldn't stay."

Keo then somberly stood up and turned around, facing Mint with his usual "no nonsense" look.

"But we're not leaving until I get some answers!" he said firmly. "How did you save yourself? What was that?! What happened?!"

"I-I don't know."

"What do you mean, you 'don't know'?"

Mint stood up and threw her arms in the air.

"It means I don't know! Okay?! I don't understand what happened…"

She started pacing back and forth.

"It was some kind of defense mechanism I think, except I never trained it!" she said. "It-it's as though I was recalling it from a past life, or…"

She stopped moving.

"...or a memory…"

"A memory?" asked Fir.

Her look of realization faded, and her ears plastered themselves against her head like an ashamed Moki.

"Guys?" she started. "I should start from the beginning."

 **.** **.** **.**

"You ran from four howlers?!" said Fir in astonishment. "Four?!"

Mint nodded, clearly still jittery from the event. She sat before them on her knees, with both of her paws in her lap.

Her two brothers sat cross-legged, having listened intently to her tale.

"So you stole the spirit tree's light," Fir started. "Because of what you thought you saw?"

"I don't think it, I know it!" said Mint. "I found a meadow, where flowers and grass were growing without spirit light!"

Fir remained skeptical.

"But still, you were just one spirit in a large meadow," he said. "How can you be so sure that you searched everywhere?"

"I didn't need to search everywhere," said Mint. "If spirit light was actually there, much larger plants and much more lush undergrowth would've been present, but it wasn't! It was...simple...as though it was getting there, but more slowly."

"On its own?" asked Keo. "Without help?"

"Exactly!"

A moment of silent reflection passed.

"And the spirit light gave you _his_ memories?" he asked. "And you think that's how you were just now able to escape death?"

"It must have been one of his powers," said Mint. "She said they would come to me, should the need arise."

"Huh."

"And I swear to you, I never trained that skill! I never even knew it was a thing!"

More tense silence.

"I think one thing is clear," said Keo. "We need to see this place for ourselves."

"You're not serious," said Fir.

"What choice do we have? We've no doubt been outcast from Niwen at this point!"

"True…"

Keo turned to Mint with a concerned but determined look on his face.

"We still don't fully trust you, but we saved you because you're our sister," said Keo. "And we all deserve a chance to be heard and to learn in case we're wrong!"

Mint gave him a look of satisfaction, but not without a hint of annoyance.

"I'm not saying you are," he continued. "I'm saying I don't know. And the only way we're going to find out, is if you lead the way."

Surprised, she donned a look of apprehension.

"Me?" she asked.

"I don't know the way to the meadow," said Keo. "Do you Fir?"

"You're guess is as good as mine, boss."

She just stared at them both in shock. It hadn't occurred to her that she would have to be the one leading the expedition!

"If I could share some advice," said Keo. "You're never ready...but you have to start somewhere."

"Well, I suppose we'd have to start at the edge of the dark forest," said Mint. "From there, I could hopefully recall which way I went."

"Then that's where we'll go."

He stood up, placing his paws on his hips.

"Looks like we're heading south," he said.

"Um, one thing, before we go," said Fir, his voice suddenly somber.

He walked up to his sister with eyes sad and shimmering.

"Mint, I hurt you today," he said. "I just wasn't thinking...can you ever forgive me?"

She just stared at him for a moment, mostly in surprise. She'd always known him to be a stone-cold warrior, this kind of softness was unexpected from him.

Nevertheless, she understood.

"It's okay," she said as she embraced him. "I was being stupid and irresponsible. I needed some sense knocked into me...I just didn't know who to trust."

"You were more perceptive than us, I guess," said Fir, hugging her back.

"...Come on, big brother...we have work to do…"


	8. A Way Out Through Midnight

"We could try teleporting to Inkwater Marsh," Fir suggested. "But...no, there's too high of a population there."

"And now they'll likely be searching for us, too!" Mint moaned. "Oooh, how are we even going to _get_ to the dark forest?!"

"Keo? You've been awfully quiet..."

The three of them were staring down at Mint's map of Niwen, scheming how to sneak past the army of spirits who once called them siblings.

"There is one other option," said Keo, breaking his thinking posture and kneeling down in front of them. "The Midnight Burrows."

"The what?" asked Fir.

Keo pointed at a spot on the map where nothing was drawn.

"The Midnight Burrows, it's a forgotten cave of portals hidden southwest of Inkwater Marsh. It's not often visited, so it likely isn't on either of your maps."

"But you've been there?" asked Mint.

"Yes. Once, while exploring on my own almost a year ago, I stumbled across it. There's a spirit well just by the entrance. We could teleport there, then hopefully sneak our way out since it's already very far south. The Dark Forest will be right there!"

"But we've never been down there! We've never seen that spirit well!" said Fir. "That means only you will be able to teleport there!"

"Not if you two hold onto me."

"That's...not how this works...is it?"

"Well, I can't say I've done it often...but Yaeger and Quito did teach me how to do it some months ago."

"Are you're sure it'll work?" asked Mint.

"Absolutely not."

Keo held out his paws anyway.

"But again, what choice do we have?"

Fir and Mint just looked at each other.

"Do you trust me?" asked Keo.

"It's either this, or we fight our own siblings," said Fir to Mint as he took hold of one of Keo's paws.

"Weren't you just fighting me less than an hour ago?" she replied.

"I only just realized that we learned paw-to-paw to control our own; Keo and I could maybe take on four or five in a fight, but an army? Forget it!"

"And we'd rather not kill other spirits if we don't have to," Keo finished.

Mint took a deep breath and stowed away her map. The last thing she wanted was to kill another spirit as well. It made her sick just trying to imagine it!

"Very well," she said, taking hold of Keo's other paw. "If it really is our only course of action."

"You two hold each other's paws, too," Keo ordered.

Fir and Mint nodded and did so.

The three of them sat in their circle, and before long an aura of light began to glow around them as they were lifted into the air and began to spin.

 **.** **.** **.**

The trio fell out of the air, tumbling down onto the grass.

"Yeah, I'm still working on a way to make that last part more graceful," Keo grunted.

Mint rolled onto her stomach. As she stood and shook herself off, she involuntarily took in a deep breath and started shivering.

It was cold, cold enough to where she could see her own breath. She looked back at her two brothers and saw them coming to the same realization.

She held her paws up to her mouth and started breathing into them as she took in her surroundings. The place had a dark, sapphire mist around it, not too thick, but thick enough to be visible from a short distance away.

Clearly, no light could make it down here, resulting in a lack of warmth that was painfully evident.

"D-does the S-Spirit T-Tree's influence not reach us d-down here?" Mint stuttered. "W-why is it so c-c-cold?!"

"I'm s-sure the Spirit Tree c-can do a lot of t-things," Keo replied. "B-but bringing warmth t-to a p-place that gets no sun...is not one of them!"

He then walked past her, and continued until he was almost directly underneath a large, vertical shaft.

"Come on," he said. "The exit's up this way!"

"W-why'd you stop?" asked Fir.

Keo very cautiously tiptoed towards where he'd be directly under the shaft, looking directly up into it the entire time.

"B-because," he started, his eyes unwavering. "Last time I f-fell d-down here, there were c-corrupted mortars shooting down this thing."

"C-corruptions?!" Fir exclaimed. "Here?!"

Then, just as Keo took another step, a belching and gelatinous mass could be heard spitting something out of its orifice from above. Keo dash-rolled out of the way before a burning, pink projectile landed exactly where he'd been standing! It remained on the ground for a second as a spiky, pink landmine, before exploding on its own and releasing its toxic and smelly juices.

Mint and Fir recoiled upon its impact, both of them adorning shocked looks on their faces.

"Yup! Looks like the Spirit T-Tree's light can't reach here either," said Keo. "Or else they'd be g-gone. Thankfully, we need them anyway: w-we have to use their spitballs to b-b-bash our way up!"

"You can't be s-serious!" said Fir.

"Hey! We agreed there were no b-b-better ideas, remember?"

Then, without hesitation, Keo jumped to the same spot and bashed off the next projectile that came his way, flinging himself into the air and dashing over to the nearest wall.

"Just follow my lead, and you'll both be fine!" he yelled down, holding onto his wall with sticky.

The next projectile came his way, and off he went, bashing, dashing, and disappearing up into the column.

"L-ladies first?" said Fir.

Mint just glared at him.

"Kidding!" he said, raising his paws and walking underneath the shaft. "J-just kidding!"

 **.** **.** **.**

There were thorny vines to avoid on the way up that Keo forgot to mention, but thankfully they were obvious and the journey was short: only two mortar corruptions were present and there was a lantern to bash off of just below the exit.

A short climb later, up and away from the shrine, they cautiously emerged into Inkwater Marsh. No other spirits were present.

"Good call!" said Fir, playfully punching Keo in the shoulder. "No wonder spirits don't usually venture this way: it's still decaying down there!"

Mint shuddered in disgust.

"I'm just glad to be out!" she said.

No matter how much exposure she had to decay, it still wasn't natural to a spirit. In truth, all three of them were already a little shook, but they had to press on.

"Thanks, but there's only more where that came from," said Keo pointing towards a clearing through some ferns. "This way. From here, Mint will have to direct us."

Said clearing was all too familiar to the trio: this was where their fight with the howlers had taken place! Fortunately, none were present this time around, and it was a trivial task to cross the river. However, their anxiety only grew as they approached the dying trees.

"Why is it creepier than I remember?" asked Fir.

"Because you never had to look into it for this long," said Mint. "There also wasn't this much fog before."

The foreboding, grey mist made the forest seem more like a graveyard.

"Guys, before we go in," said Mint. "I need to tell you something."

"Hold on, can't they see us from here?" Fir interrupted.

"If they do, they'll be fine with us venturing in," said Keo. "They all think going in here is suicide, remember?"

"Well...isn't it?"

"We've all been trained well enough. We can handle ourselves...now what was it you wanted to tell us, Mint?"

She was going to let them know how the howlers, after cutting her, may have picked up her scent, but after that exchange, she was convinced they had enough to worry about. What if she told them, and they didn't follow her in?!

"Um, I was just going to say," she started. "Thank you...for believing in me as much as you have. I'm just grateful that I don't have to do this alone."

"Oh, is that it?" said Fir. "No worries! Like we said: you're our sister, and you deserve a chance to let us hear what you have to say."

He glanced anxiously into the woods again.

"And see what it is you have to show us," he finished.

"Heh, yeah," said Mint.

"Come on," said Keo. "Time's awaisting!"

Before long, the trio was out of sight, seemingly consumed by the void.

 **.** **.** **.**

 **Author's Note:** Transition scenes are the worst. The main plot points and emotional scenes are the ones you think of first, the ones that inspire you to create the story in the first place, but you never immediately think of how to get from one scene to the next. This chapter just happened to be one of those "fillers".

That being said, this whole sequence was still a joy to write! I hope you enjoyed!

P.S: Please feel free to leave a review. I love interacting with those who take the time to read what I spent time creating! :)


	9. Return of the Hunter

Silence.

The silence of the forest was the most unnerving thing about it. There were no bees buzzing, no birds chirping, all the familiar sounds of home...absent.

The only occasional sounds were that of wind barely managing to caress its way through the trees, or the occasional creaking of wood from a dead tree. Though those sounds were sudden, they strangely offered a comforting feeling to the spirits, a break from the oppressive quiet.

"They say this is what those woods used to sound like," said Keo. "I would say that I could never imagine it, but...now I don't know if I'll ever forget it!"

Mint walked behind Keo and Fir, her spirit arc drawn along with their spirit edges.

Apart from the deafening silence, nothing actually seemed off. However, the trio couldn't help but feel as if they were being watched.

A few moments later, the sounds of a four-legged creature could be heard approaching from behind.

Mint spun around to see a howler charging their way, but not just any howler. The one she'd hoped in vain to never see again. Yellow-eyes. The mere sight of his growing figure froze her in fear. It recognized her.

It wasn't charging the group: it was charging her!

She snapped herself out of her trance, notching an arrow and quickly taking aim.

But before she could release, it reached out with a massive paw and swatted her to the floor!

It then grabbed her with its massive jaws and lifted her screaming, glowing form.

Fir and Keo watched helplessly as their sister went flying into a pit of thorns, but there was no time to lose focus.

The pack-leader roared mightily before the two of them, calling his three minions into the fight, who lept out of the trees behind them.

Surrounded, Fir and Keo readied their weapons and stances for combat.

 **.** **.** **.**

White-hot pain was searing across the front of Mint's body as she lay flat on serrated thorns!

She agonizingly pulled herself off the hazard, adrenaline the only thing keeping her from passing out as she began to trudge her way back to her brothers.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see them leaping off of tree-trunks to get up and over their aggressors, gracefully slicing and dicing away at them.

The sound of their battle wasn't as loud as she thought it would be, as if the volume was turned down on the world around her.

She felt alone...and...hungry?

 _...Mom?..._ came a voice in her head. _...Mom...help!..._

Mint suddenly felt a pang of unbelievable sadness.

_...why'd you have to go?...why wasn't I fast enough?..._

It was the voice of a child, younger than her. A baby. The innocence in his tone nearly broke her heart.

After nearly a minute of blood and pain, she stood before her final obstacle: a towering wall of thorn-bushes!

She couldn't climb or jump over it; the only way was through.

In a blur of whimpering, tripping, and yelping, Mint ungracefully found herself about halfway through.

Along with feeling disoriented from blood loss, she also felt lost in grief. Why?

_...she...she gave me the last peach...I have to keep going...for her..._

The subdued sounds of battle on the other side quickly faded into the sound of large paws scurrying away.

There was no turning back now; she wasn't about to trudge back and wait if it meant tearing herself through thorns that had closed up behind her! Worse yet, she was starting to taste blood in her mouth.

_...I can't give up...I can't…feel...my legs..._

Her consciousness slipping, she was too weak to scream.

_...must...keep...going..._

She had to break through. It was now or never.

 **.** **.** **.**

"I think that's the last of them," said Keo.

As they watched the last living howler retreat into the woods beyond, the rustling of undergrowth could be heard behind them, followed by the sound of someone stumbling out.

"Guys...help…"

Fir and Keo turned around to see Mint clutching her chest and stomach.

"Oh no!" said Fir, bringing his paws up to his face.

She opened her arms and looked at her paws to see them dripping with a shiny and silvery fluid.

The grizzly wounds across her thorax and abdomen now completely visible, Mint looked up at her two brothers with her eyes wide in terror.

It started streaming from her nose before she gave a few guttural coughs and collapsed to her knees.

Fir and Keo rushed to her aid as she began to sob. Some blood had come well out of her mouth by the time they sat her upright on a tree trunk.

"...m-make it stop...please…"

Her voice was incredibly weak. She held her tail on her chest, feebly attempting to stop the bleeding as the pool of silvery fluid continued to spread beneath her.

"This is bad! Her lungs must have been punctured," said Fir. "Her breaths are becoming hoarse!"

"She's not conscious enough to use her regeneration spell," said Keo. "We'll have to use ours!"

"Together?"

"Yeah! Look at her! This is more than a one-person job!"

Mint violently coughed up more blood before struggling to gasp. Then she started weakly hyperventilating.

"E-ev-everything's getting blurred!" she said, her speech slurring.

She blindly slapped a paw onto Fir's chest.

"I can't see! Please hurry!"

"We have to act, now!" said Keo, placing his paws on her shoulder and stomach.

"Hold on, Mint!" said Fir. "Just hold on!"

Fir clutched her paw, and in unison, the two of them cast regenerate.

In a flash of green, Mint's wounds were no longer visible.

She gasped loudly as she regained the ability to breath, keeling over to the side onto her two paws.

You can't heal what you can't see; Mint could still feel internal wounds that Fir and Keo couldn't have known about.

Now that she was able to focus again, she cast her own regenerate spell with what little energy she had left, fixing the remaining damage herself.

Fully exhausted, Mint collapsed flat onto her face with her arms splayed in opposite directions. Fir gently helped her back up onto the tree stump as she tried to catch her breath. She slowly brought her paws up to eye-level and stared at the sticky substance covering them. She was still sitting in the pool of her own silvery fluid, quivering from the shock of it all.

Her face contorted, and she began to softly choke-up. It quickly turned into sobs as she buried her head in her paws, smearing blood all over her head.

"Hey, hey!" said Fir, giving her a hug. "It's okay! You're going to be okay!"

"I'm sorry!" she bawled, hugging him back. "I'm so, so sorry!"

"Whoa! Slow down! For what?" asked Fir.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," said Keo, shaking Mint's blood off of his paws.

"They had my scent," Mint explained through tears. "They cut my leg when they chased me through here. They must've smelled my blood and recognized me!"

Fir and Keo stayed silent.

" ***sniff*** I should've told you!" she continued. "I knew it was a possibility and I didn't tell you-I'm so STUPID!"

"Mint! It's okay!" said Fir. "We're all still alive! At least now you know to tell us stuff like this for next time."

"We all make mistakes," said Keo. "And believe me: it'll take way more than a few howlers to kill us two!"

"But the one with yellow eyes," said Mint. "He's...different."

Her eyes widened in terror.

"The pack-leader!" she exclaimed.

She grabbed Fir by the shoulders and held him at arm's-length.

"The one with grey fur and yellow eyes," she said. "Please tell me you killed him!"

"Well, no," Fir responded. "He ran away but-"

Mint held a paw clenched in apprehension up to her mouth.

"But we injured him heavily!" he reassured. "I don't think he'll want to mess with us again anytime soon!"

"I don't know," said Mint. "He'll be back. I don't think he'd give up that easily."

"He'd be a fool to keep trying to eat us!" said Fir. "We're so small, we'd barely fill his belly. No sane creature would keep up the hunt!"

"That one was a pack-leader, Fir," said Keo. "Pack-leaders are killers, not just hunters."

"What? That's news to me."

"Yeah, that's how Zar lost his eye. He had to fight three all by himself one time!"

"Geeze!"

"They get their food brought to them by the others. So if one appears, it's because they're out to kill. To protect the pack, I suppose? So he likely will be back."

Fir and Mint just looked at each other.

"Now, I don't normally say these words," Keo continued in a more light-hearted tone. "But Fir is still right about one thing: it needs to tend to its wounds for now. So we're in the clear for the time being."

His two subordinates nodded in agreement.

"And let's not forget why we're out here. Mint, you're still showing us the way. How much further is it to the meadow?"

"Not- ***sniff*** -not far," she said, slowly standing up. "There's a ravine that we need to cross just over that rise-"

She nearly cut herself off when she stumbled onto all fours.

"Whoa! Okay, you've lost a lot of blood," said Keo. "No need to push yourself!"


	10. A Stirring of Memories

A huge shoutout to IHCFanfic and his "100 Themes of the Blind Forest" for inspiring the opening scene of this chapter!

 **.** **.** **.**

_...Sein...the egg remembered everything Sein...I...I was being cooked alive!..._

Mint felt a sudden pang of unbelievable guilt. The memory as a whole was foggy, but the emotions were so strong that they felt like her own.

_...Dad shouldn't have brought me back..._

_What?!...Ori, what do you mean?!_

She softly choked out a sob.

_Don't you get it?! No one would be dead, and everything would be fine, if I WASN'T BORN!_

She shut her eyes, the pain was almost too much.

 _Ori, no!...No, please, this is is_ our _fault...and it's ours alone. The Spirit Tree and I had no idea and...and we were irresponsible with out light...don't give up because of our mistake...I don't know how I'd live with myself...and unlike you, I can never stop living...please...if not for anyone else, keep going for me...for your father...and for yourself..._

"Hey, you still with us?" said Fir.

She just looked at him, though unable to focus on him. The memory wasn't quite done; she felt the two beings in her memory pull in for a kind of hug.

... _Alright...I won't give up...I won't...I'll do everything you ask...just keep pointing me in the right direction..._

Mint shook herself from her trance, quickly wiping away her tears.

"The meadow is just ahead," she said. "I'm sorry I can't move any faster."

"Don't be sorry," said Fir in a gentle voice. "We won't move any faster than you need us to!"

"Thank you."

Mint walked with her arms crossed; she felt cold and prickly from all the blood loss. As a result, her entire body felt heavy and she couldn't bring herself to move with the same agility and finesse as before. Even her tail dragged lifelessly behind her instead of subconsciously wagging with its usual vitality. The blood on her fur had somewhat dried as well, leaving her looking about as distraught as she felt.

"I found it!" said Keo, having returned from scouting ahead. "It was a little difficult to see, but it's there!"

Dusk had fallen, and nothing in the meadow produced its own light like in Niwen; the fact that Keo was able to see it having never seen something like that before was almost a miracle!

"Guys, there's something else I should tell you," said Mint. "I would have told you earlier, except at the time I didn't know how to describe it."

"What is it?" asked Fir.

"When I was fighting through the thorns, up until I nearly bled out, I felt...lost...in grief."

"Lost in grief?" Keo repeated. "Why?"

"I don't know! But it felt so real..."

"Could it have been dad?" said Fir.

She stopped walking and wiped a tear from her eye.

"I don't know if it was another memory, or if I'm just going crazy from the bloodloss," said Mint.

"Trust me, if you were going crazy, you wouldn't be able to tell us you're going crazy," said Keo. "I think…"

"I dunno, what if we're all going crazy?" said Fir anxiously. "Are either of you feeling hungry, too?"

Keo reached behind his back.

"Come to think of it, yes," he said as he pulled out three peaches. "Lucky I brought some food, huh?"

"Oh my gosh!" said Fir, snatching one from his paw. "Keo, you're the best!"

Mint quietly grabbed hers as Fir gobbled his up, her expression still blank. Seeing this, Keo took a bite and waited.

"Mint? Is there something else?" asked Keo when she hadn't so much as nibbled on her meal.

She looked up at him with a solemn expression.

"Right before you two healed me," she said. "I felt him die."

The three of them stood in silence at this.

"I-I'm sorry. You two were enjoying your food, and then I just had to ruin it!"

"No! No, it's okay," said Fir. "You shouldn't go through that alone."

"Look, I don't know what you saw," Keo started. "And I can't claim to have experienced what you've just experienced."

He put a consoling paw on her shoulder.

"But what's more important is this," he said. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I don't know," said Mint, finally taking a bite. "I think so."

"Then that's good enough."

He then beckoned towards a distant clearing, illuminated by the fading sunlight.

"Now c'mon, there's a meadow to see!"

 **.** **.** **.**

Eventually, they stood before the lake at the center of the meadow.

"Finally, I can clean up!" Mint exhaled.

"You do that," said Keo. "The two of us will see if we can find any spirit light powering this growth."

"You're not going to find anything."

"Hey, you brought us here so that we could confirm that for ourselves, right?"

Mint sighed in frustration.

"Right," she repeated back.

"I'll stay with Mint until she's finished," said Fir. "She's still recovering from all that blood loss; I'm not even sure if she should be swimming!"

Mint smiled at him briefly as Keo nodded in affirmation and walked off.

The bloodied spirit then took a deep breath and dived in, the water barely making a splash as her small form breached its surface.

She relaxed upon feeling its cool touch surround her head and ears, letting herself slowly sink into the dark blue stillness.

The dried blood would have to be rubbed off when she came out, but for now she was content to unwind having finally found some...quiet...calm...tranquility…

...silence…

...she was floating…

...floating...on a feather...an orb of spirit light gliding by her side...

...floating towards...a tree...a spirit tree!...

The tree had no leaves, and nothing but a forest fire surrounded it.

It was dying. The tree, the forest, everything!

 _One step more to take._ she thought, though it strangely didn't feel like her own. _One step more...I'm almost there-!_

Suddenly, her vision was encumbered by large talons. She had been snatched out of the sky! The young guardian spirit burst awake, nearly inhaling water into her lungs! She frantically swam upwards. The talons of hate. They slammed her to the ground, then began to squeeze. Mint screamed into the water with what little breath she had left, feeling every bone in her body crack under the pressure!

The surface was just out of reach, and she could no longer swim!

Her eyes widened as she became convinced that she was about to drown, but at the last possible second, an arm shot into the water and pulled her out the rest of the way.

She surfaced, taking in the biggest gulp of air she'd ever taken in her life.

"Wow, you swam up fast! I'm surprised you were able to make it that far!" Fir chuckled. "I was ready to dive all the way down..."

Mint could pay no attention to his words; was there still water in her ears?

Her breathing was heavy. She felt her arms and ribcage, all still intact.

If none of it was broken, then what was she feeling? What was she seeing?!

It took a moment before she remembered: the thorn pit! It was the same thing as what had occurred in the thorn pit!

A vision...and it wasn't over.

She felt herself being unceremoniously tossed to the ground.

While in mid-air, she saw in full the creature responsible: a massive owl, its feathers purple and its eyes blinded by corruption!

Landing on her stomach, the breath was knocked out of her.

Unable to move, she felt the owl closing in from behind, eager to finish the job.

 _...Father...I'm sorry…_ came a very weak, internal voice. _...I couldn't do it...I'm sorry..._

It-it's dad! Mint was hearing her father's final thoughts!

_...Mom...it's okay…we'll be together again…it's alri-..._

The sight and sound of the burning forest before her became enveloped in darkness as she felt him go unconscious.

 **.** **.** **.**

"What happened?!" asked Keo.

"I don't know!" Fir replied. "I pulled her out of the water, and then she just doesn't respond to anything I say; I even waved a paw in front of her face! Nothing! No response!"

They looked back at her, on her paws and knees staring at the ground, entranced.

"She hasn't stopped sobbing," said Fir.

 **.** **.** **.**

Suddenly, he woke up to rain.

There was no more fire, and the forest was regrowing.

"Ori!" Came a familiar voice. "You're awake!"

"Mom?!" said Ori, turning around to see Naru kneeling by his side. "MOM!"

He gave her his warmest hug.

"You're alive! You're...okay? No, no! This isn't real. I'm dead. I've failed and I've died for real-!"

"No, son. No! You're alive. The Gumon you saved brought me back to life!"

Ori's ears flopped and he looked back at her. His eyes began to flood with tears as he realized the truth.

"Gu-Gumo?" he stuttered. "He...he saved you?"

"Yes, Ori," said Naru. "You showed him kindness when he deserved none. He says it changed him. It was the least he could do."

"But then...how is the forest fixing itself?"

The baby spirit's ears instantly perked back up.

"Where's Sein?!"

"Who's...Sein?"

"This glowing...orb, thingy. The spirit tree's light! Where is it?!"

"Oh, that! Calm yourself. Kuro took it back, see?"

Ori spun around. He could barely see his father through the trees, but there it was: high atop his father's trunk, glowing bright and powerful once more.

"She realized the error of her ways, Ori," said Naru. "You're bones all fixed themselves as soon as she put it back!"

"She did it," he said quietly before raising his voice in triumph. "Sein did it! She's back! Yeah!"

Ori shot his fists up in victory.

"We did it!" he finished. "Together."

He turned back to Naru with a big smile on his face.

"Thank goodness, too," he said. "Kuro still had a child to take care of!"

"Oh," said Naru, her voice turning grave. "Did she?"

"Yeah, it was going to hatch any day now. I could feel it when I touched it!"

"...That's...great!...But also unfortunate…"

Ori's ears drooped yet again as he donned a grave expression himself.

"Why?"

"...Ori...the light vaporized Kuro…she's gone..."

 **.** **.** **.**

Mint's heavy breaths turned into desperate, panicked sobs as the rest of the story flashed before her eyes.

She saw how he took in the orphaned owl.

How they raised her.

How they got her to fly.

How she and Ori irresponsibly flew to a new forest across the water.

How they were separated by the storm.

How she was injured.

...How Ori sacrificed himself to save her…

Mint saw him release Kuro's feather into the wind.

"No," she whimpered. "Don't let go."

The last image was of Mint's father embracing Seir and physically disappearing in a blinding flash of light. She snapped out of her trance with a loud sob. With tears streaming down her face, a high-pitched whine was all that started coming out of her mouth. No longer able to hold her emotions back, she collapsed into a ball and cried so hard that she was practically screaming.

Fir and Keo rushed to her side.

"Mint? Mint?! Can you hear me?" asked Keo. "Just nod if you can hear-"

"He did it for his friend!" she blurted out. "He didn't do it for us! He did it for his frieheheeend!"

The other two guardians just traded confused looks.

"What?" asked Fir.

"It all makes sense!" she bawled.

"Mint, what does that mean? What just happened?"

She held a paw up to both of them, which slowly closed to a fist except for her index finger.

"Right," said Keo. "We'll give you room. Back-up, brother."

Keo pushed his sibling backwards with him, and they both sat back to let Mint grieve.

"It must've been another vision," Keo explained after some time. "That's what it sounds like to me, anyways."

" ***sniff*** You're right," said Mint as she sat up.

"What did you see?" asked Fir.

She appeared to space out for a second, before looking them in the eye and saying, "Everything."


	11. Blessing and a Curse

"...I embraced the light when my name was Ori," said Mint. "It was the will of the wisps that life begin anew…"

The three of them sat in tense silence.

"And that was it," she finished. "That was the last thing I heard."

They sat by a fire they had started mid-story, as dusk fell to night.

"So that was his name," Keo said distantly. "Ori."

"And here I was thinking I was a great warrior," said Fir.

"Hey, don't say that! You're a good warrior: you'd have done the same if you were in his position!"

"No way! I'd have easily gotten myself killed! He should have died hundreds of times over, but didn't...he pulled through..."

Keo raised an eyebrow at Fir.

"Is that humility?" he teased. "Did I just sense humility?"

"I will never...NOT...be humble...ever again," Fir replied.

The two of them playfully shoved each other and shared a laugh. Mint just smiled and wiped away another tear. Her smile quickly faded though, as an important detail from her father's memories had yet to be addressed.

"But what about the will of the wisps?" she asked. "The will of Seir? She used him!"

"I mean, yeah, of course her will would be to revitalize the forest," said Fir. "What else is the purpose of spirit light?"

"But I think that's missing the point, Fir: it wasn't Ori's will. What Mint is trying to say is that everything points to Ori becoming the spirit tree solely to save Ku!"

"He could've cared less about Niwen," said Mint somberly. "About us."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," said Fir. "After Kwolok died, he must've known that someone would have to take over."

"But I felt it, Fir! In that moment… ***sniff***...right as he pulled in the light...all he could think about was Ku! Saving her was the first thing he did!"

"But then...why? Why does he tell us this now?"

"You think I know?!" Mint snapped. "You think I wanted to see any of this?!"

Taken aback by her sudden anger, Fir held up his paws.

"Hey! Calm down!" he said.

"I AM CALM!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Keo stole a quick look at Fir before addressing Mint.

"Why are you so angry all of a sudden?" he asked.

Mint took a deep breath before throwing up her own paws.

"I'm sorry, but I've been through a lot of freaking emotions today!" she said, standing up. "I almost died, twice! Once because my own people tried to execute me, again when I had to reface that howler, and now there's this vision!"

She had been pacing for most of that monologue, and only now did she stop to cover her eyes with one paw.

"I jus-I didn't ask for any of this!" she said finally. "I don't know what we are...or what our purpose is..."

She plopped back down with her head in her paws.

"I'm just confused," she finished.

"We're all confused, Mint," said Keo. "And don't think that anyone, that we, expect all the answers from you."

"But I wish I did! I'm the only one who looked into all of this. I should know all the answers, but I don't!"

"Well, that's about the worst responsibility you could put upon yourself."

They all remained quiet again, letting that sink in. Fir then stood up and walked over to his sister.

"You don't need to know all the answers, Mint," he said, kneeling down and placing a paw on her shoulder. "Not now at least. Why don't we all get some sleep? We've had a long day, maybe we'll be able to think straight and figure something out tomorrow?"

"I concur!" said Keo, before flopping onto his back. "Finally someone understands!"

"Heh, good night, boss!"

"Good night, brother!"

As Fir stood up and turned around, a paw grabbed onto his arm.

"Fir, wait!" said Mint. "Sleep with me."

"What?"

"Please? I...I don't want to be alone on the grass tonight."

Fir looked into her pleading eyes, and he understood: she was scared and just needed someone to comfort her. With a sigh, he laid down behind her before awkwardly putting an arm around her waist. He felt her relax as he pulled himself in towards her. He then snuck both arms around her and nuzzled his head into the back of her neck. Soon after, the two of them dozed off.

 **.** **.** **.**

Thrashing and squealing, Mint suddenly awoke in cold sweat. It was still dark out; she must not have gotten even a few hours of sleep!

"What?! Wha-?!" Fir exclaimed, who was startled awake when she suddenly sat up. "What happened?"

The commotion had stirred Keo awake as well. He simply looked up at the two of them as he continued to rest on his side.

"I...I was him," Mint said breathlessly. "And...I was dying...over...and over...and over again!"

"Huh?" said Fir, clearly confused.

"He drowned...got impaled...was suffocated by poisoned water...burned in lava...he died so. Many. Times!"

She turned around and grabbed Fir by the shoulders.

"He died _hundreds_ of times, Fir!" she cried.

"How?" Fir asked. "I thought you said-"

"He was blessed and cursed with ability from his father, called 'Soul Link'. It allowed him to come back to a certain spot if he died! But his journey was so deadly, he kept dying and coming back and dying-"

She lost her voice to her sobs for a second.

"The poor thing!" she bawled. "He suffered so much!"

"Wasn't he...even younger than us, too?" Keo asked tentatively.

"Yeheheheees!"

She broke down once again, and Fir just cradled her in his arms. She cried for a few more minutes.

"And it was just after he'd lost his adoptive mom," she continued after some time. "He-he was all alone…"

She touched one of Fir's arms that was wrapped around her.

"He had no other spirit guardian to hug him!" she cried. "No one to comfort him through all that trauma…"

Fir and Keo had no idea what to say, but then maybe it was best to say nothing. They simply listened to Mint's quiet sobs, grieving over someone who had never actually died.

"Oh, dad," she finished.

"How many times did it happen in Niwen?" asked Fir.

"I...didn't see any from Niwen," she replied. "Nothing that looked like it anyway."

"Really?" said Keo.

"I don't know. Maybe I just didn't see them all…"

"I guess there was no way you were gunna sleep through all of that, huh?" said Fir.

"...I don't know if I want to go _back_ to sleep!"

"You have to, Mint. You need your rest!"

"What's the point?! There's no food out here and we can't go back! We're just going to starve!"

"If we get good rest, then we may just be able to figure something out in the morning," said Keo. "We have to hold onto hope!"

"Just think of home, Mint," said Fir. "Maybe we'll find a way…"

" ***sniff*** Okay…"

She curled back into a ball and bravely quieted her mind, nodding off again as Fir re-wrapped himself around her.

 **.** **.** **.**

When they awoke, it was to the sight of multi-colored flowers and grass beaming in the sunshine. Fir slowly rose to a sitting position, while Mint rolled onto her back to look up at him.

"The dawn always arrives," he said poetically. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "A little."

Mint had to admit, the scenery couldn't be frowned at! At least, not immediately. The crushing reality of their situation soon crept back into her mind, and she found herself sadly staring up at the blue sky.

"Then why the long face?" asked Fir.

"Our situation still stinks," she said flatly.

Fir frowned at this, ears drooping a little as well, before he slapped the ground and stood up.

"Not for long," he stated matter-of-factly. "Not if I have something to say about it!"

He started up the hill of flowers behind Mint, eyes full of determination.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Come on! I wanna show you something," he replied.

Mint slowly stood up and followed, ever curious. It sounded as though he were about to offer a solution to their dire circumstance, but what could possibly fix any of it?

She met him at the top of the hill, where he held out a paw to stop her.

"Stand back," he said. "It's time you learned something, a skill I'm sure you wished you'd learned before you faced those howlers!"

With a flick of his arms he produced two spirit edges, one in each paw. He then held one behind his back and spun the other around for a few seconds, finally ending the flourish by offering its hilt out to Mint.

"Take it," he said with a smile. "Your training starts now!"

"Show-off!" Mint snickered, cautiously taking the sword from his paw. "But, doesn't this take years to train?"

"Heh, don't worry: you really don't need to know any of that fancy stuff! Think of that like...shooting a single spirit arc through several rings that you tossed into the air. It's cool and all, but does that really help you in a fight beyond knowing the basics?"

"Probably not. It's just fluff."

"Exactly! Now, feel the sword in your paws, and get used to its weight distribution."

Mint examined Fir's spirit edge in her paw, running a finger along its blade.

"What's your plan with this, anyway?" she asked.

"The plan is for you to use spirit edge to kill that howler," he answered.

She tensed up, knowing exactly what he was going to say next.

"You're gunna collect its fang, and you're gunna present it to the Elders."

She started shaking her head in doubt.

"It's your best bet to prove that you're still on their side! Maybe they'll accept it, maybe they won't, but it's better than teleporting back with nothing!"

"It's also better to not get killed, Fir."

"With this skill, the pack leader may still kill you, but if you return without proof _they_ will definitely kill you!"

"But I'm not on their side! I don't think they understand what they're doing any more than we do!"

"You have something, Mint! Our father showed you something...personal. Maybe if we go back and explain things, the Elders or someone can help us fill in the gaps."

Mint stayed quiet.

"And maybe that's all this is, huh?" he continued. "A misunderstanding."

More silence from Mint.

"We have to try, sis...you have to try…'cause I know for a fact that we won't even make it to the explaining part without that fang at the very least!"

After another moment, she took a deep breath and nodded in agreement.

"Now, like I said, you don't need anything fancy," Fir started, taking a fighting stance with his sword. "All you need to know is a series of five strikes…"


	12. Hunter Becomes the Hunted

With every slash, Mint pierced the air with Fir's spirit edge; if it weren't for the burning soreness in her arms, she would not have known that nearly two hours had passed!

She ended the five-strike form Fir had taught her with a final stabbing motion, straight and true. If anything had been standing in front of her, it would have been impaled without feeling a thing.

"Good! And just know that any strike can be used at any time," Fir explained. "It just depends on the situation and the context of the fight."

"Thank you," Mint said breathlessly. "I hope it's enough!"

"I have to say, you learned this quite quickly!"

"I know! I think part of that comes from watching dad use it in his memories…"

Fir let that sink in for a moment.

"The connection you have," he started. "Is truly something special...I can't even begin to imagine what it's like…"

"Trust me," Mint replied as she laid down on her back to rest. "I don't think you'd want to see all of it."

"True...I almost forgot about those nightmares you were having..."

Mint was so thankful for Fir; he didn't have to do any of this...save her, teach her, much less even believe her! Heck, it was even his idea to get the howler's fang to, hopefully, get back on everyone's good side!

In that moment, the craziest thought came to her mind.

"Fir? Can you come a little closer?" she asked of him.

He wordlessly obliged.

"Closer."

"What's this about?" he chuckled.

He continued until he was just over her face. She didn't know if it was the hunger in her stomach making her go insane, but without any hesitation, she grabbed the back of his head and kissed him on the lips!

It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity by the time she pulled away. The two of them just stared into each other's white pupils after that, both equally speechless. Mint was about to apologize when, to her surprise, Fir lowered his head and kissed her back!

A few moments later, he pinned one of her paws to the grass and brought the other one behind her back as they continued to make out. He then grabbed her thigh and started lifting it. Gradually, he pressed himself onto her soft form, moving downward to kiss her neck and allow her to breathe. The paw that pinned Mint's to the grass gradually joined its palm to her own, and the two of them laced their fingers together in their embrace.

Mint relaxed as she felt Fir inside of her. After their climax, they briefly laid there, motionless with the exception of the gentle rising and falling of their chests. Then she shuddered and let slip a high-pitched grunt as he pulled out.

Blinded by his infatuation, he grabbed her head with both paws and continued kissing her. Equally lost in lust, Mint wrapped her paws around his thorax and passionately kissed back. It was the happiest moment of their lives...until they heard his voice.

"Fir? Mint?...What's going on?"

 **.** **.** **.**

When Keo woke up, Fir and Mint were gone. He was alone in a field of flowers with no explanation. He did, however, hear two people swinging spirit edges around at the top of the hill before him.

Reaching behind him into the lake, he took a paw-full of water and splashed it on his face. He figured it had to be them as he started up the incline.

Oddly, before he was even halfway up, the slashing stopped. It wasn't a long climb by any means, so he knew he wouldn't have that much time to wonder what they were doing.

But upon cresting the ridge, what he saw before him was the last thing he expected to see.

At first, he was confused, not knowing what the glowing blob of light was in the grass and flowers, but it wasn't long before he connected it with the kissing noises he was hearing!

"Fir?" he said cautiously. "Mint?"

Upon hearing his voice, they were instantly broken from their trance.

"What's going on?" he asked with a smirk.

They looked at him, then back at each other, before Fir scurried off of his sister and faced away from her in shame.

"Keo! You pervert!" Mint shouted angrily.

"What did I just do?!" Fir gasped, on his knees with his paws up to his face.

"I knew it! I told you you'd have to bring out your romantic side at some point!" said Keo to Fir.

By now, Mint had gotten back to her knees, her eyes shut and doubled-over, holding her crotch with both paws.

"Mint, I'm so sorry," said Fir. "I'm so, so sorry! I'm...I'm disgusting!"

"Fir, no!" said Mint, wincing in pain as she shuffled back over to him. "Don't say that about yourself! I started it!"

She placed tentative, and consoling, paws on his shoulders.

"But I _am!"_

Mint turned to Keo.

"Keo, I swear to you: I started it! It's not his fault!"

"Guys, it's okay!" Keo chuckled. "I'm telling you, this is totally normal!"

Mint stole a glance back at Fir.

"It-it is?" she asked.

"Yes, what are you two? Seven? Eight months old?" said Keo.

They both nodded.

"Yep, it's about that time," he continued. "When you get...feelings...for each other."

"You're saying this is normal?!" Fir asked.

"One-hundred percent!"

Fir just put his head in his paws.

"It felt so wrong and so right at the same time! What the f-" he said. "Why couldn't I control myself?!"

"You're tired. You're hungry," Keo replied. "None of us are thinking straight right now."

"I don't suppose you have any more food?"

"If I did, I would've offered it to you both already."

Mint just heard Fir sigh in frustration when he said that. She had never seen him so vulnerable before...so much like herself. In that moment, she hugged him close and tight from behind, nuzzling her cheek against the back of his neck. She had figured out what he needed to hear.

"I didn't mean for you to feel this way," she said softly. "We don't ever have to talk about it again. We don't have to mention it to anyone. We can keep this between us...and him...right Keo?"

Keo just silently zipped his lips shut, held his paws in the air, and then gave a simple thumbs-up.

"That's fair," was all Fir could respond with. "Thank you."

The two of them then sat there for some time, rocking back and forth in silence.

"Come on," said Fir finally. "We need to set up for yellow-eyes. He's not gunna kill himself, you know?"

"Wait, _what?!"_ said Keo.

 **.** **.** **.**

"This is so crazy that it just might work," said Keo once the three of them had made it to the other side of the ravine.

"This way," said Fir. "When we fought them for the first time, I saw this other clearing that would be perfect in case there was a rematch!"

Mint just followed him like a terrier would for its master.

"How so?" she asked.

"If there are too many trees close by, they won't come," he explained. "By now, they probably know that we can climb them and get the high-ground advantage."

"So we go to a clearing to bait them in?" asked Keo.

"Exactly."

Fir sounded confident in his plan and, like always, it seemed that he knew every detail. Despite this however, Mint was still worried. There was something off about him, as though if he didn't have it all straight in his head, he wouldn't be able to focus.

He was distracted, and it was all because of what she did; there couldn't be any other reason!

"Here," said Fir as they entered the clearing. "One way or another, that howler dies today...right here!"

The canopy above still let through barely any light, and an ominous, violet haze surrounded the area. The place almost felt cursed as she followed him to the center.

"F-Fir? Are you sure you're alright?" she asked cautiously.

"What? Yeah...yeah, of course I'm fine!" he said. "Why would you ask me that?"

He wasn't fine, and this time Mint was sure of it. His tone was condescending and dismissive, angry even. His judgement was clouded and it was all her fault!

"Look, just stand right here," he said, pulling her into place before she could say anything else. "If you're directly in the middle of the clearing, you're as far away as possible from any trees."

"Wha-why me?!" she squeaked.

"I hate to say it, but he'd recognize me and Keo. He knows we aren't easy targets. But you...he still thinks you're helpless."

He started backing away.

"Stay there and wait. He'll see this as the perfect opportunity to strike, and that's when you'll let 'em have it! He won't expect a thing!"

"Where are you going?" Mint asked.

"Keo and I are going to stay up in the trees in case you need help. But I'm confident-"

He would never finish. Just as he turned around and started running, yellow-eyes pounced!

The lone howler was still scarred and wounded, but the way he moved wouldn't have suggested it. It held Fir down with its gigantic claws, silencing his screams by chomping down over his head and thorax. Its sudden presence had knocked Mint onto her butt in surprise, and she could only watch helplessly as Fir was lifted into the air and shaken around by its massive jaws, before finally being flung violently across the clearing.

His body slammed against a tree trunk before slumping unconscious down to the forest floor.

"FIIIIIIIIIR!"

She had dropped to her knees and had her paws cupped over her mouth before screaming his name. She got to her hooves, wanting nothing more than to heal him with regenerate as soon as possible, but before she could even take a step, yellow-eyes slid in-between with a fierce growl.

On her butt once again, she frantically backed away with her paws and hooves, unsure of whether to hyperventilate or to sob. The plan had gone astray, but before she called for help, a detailed memory flashed through her mind.

 **.** **.** **.**

Ori scrambled upward, eager to get away. He'd finally found an opportunity to escape the corrupted creature, and so took it without hesitation.

But he was already regretting his decision to grapple into a narrow shaft of rock, for all he could see at the top were spikes!

Suddenly, he felt the shaft he was climbing break away from the walls around it; he was being pulled back down. Daring to glance behind him, he saw the vile, eight-legged pursuer pulling it down, all while screeching and baring her hideous mandibles.

The guardian spirit was shot full of adrenaline at the sight, whipping his head back around and using sticky to climb with rejuvenated vigor! At first, he wasn't sure what he'd do once he reached the top, but Mora pulling the hollowed and decayed tree trunk downward turned out to be a blessing in disguise: an opening had appeared to the side at the very top!

Jumping to it and dashing through, he saw another piece of hanging, blue moss. Grappling onto it and swinging to the opposite wall, he narrowly avoided the poisoned spikes beneath him.

More blue moss, another hollowed tree to hide in, more spikes at the other end; how much longer could he keep this up?!

Finally, after the spider used her weight to tip the tree and reveal another exit, Ori found himself back in a large cavern, where he was before being dropped into her trap.

 _She's too big...too strong!_ he thought. _I can leave. I can't fight her. I shouldn't fight her...I have to run!_

But just as he turned to go, that's when he saw it again: the wisp. The Eyes of the Forest were still trapped in her webs, and Ori was reminded of why he was here.

_Maybe I can free it! Free it before she-_

Too late. The vile, eight-legged monstrosity had caught up! She was quick despite her size, rapidly scuttling in-between him and his goal. The wisp was blocked from his sight, and as Mora released a blood-curdling screech to the heavens, Ori felt something he hadn't felt for a long time; it was beyond fear or courage.

...Anger...pure and focused FURY...

His eyes narrowed in rage. Taking a fighting stance, he drew his spirit edge. The sword glowed and sparked like it never had before. He needed that wisp to save Ku, and this damn spider was in. His. WAY!

Spiderlings emerged from the ground, answering her call to battle. She then sucked in a breath before shooting her acidic spit directly at Ori.

In response, he jumped over her children and bashed the first spitball back into her face before she could shoot another. While she was dazed and reeling from the sudden impact, Ori then dashed forward, aiming straight for the corrupted fungus on her carapace that was clouding her mind.

 **.** **.** **.**

As instantly as her vision had started, it ended. Mint snapped back to the present, now invigorated with the same fury and focus that she felt from her father. Without hesitation, she drew her sword and charged.

She didn't need a tree nearby, instead she double-jumped directly at its face and struck it three times. It flailed a claw at her in response, but she used her fourth strike to swat it away, and with an enraged grunt she used her fifth to pierce directly into its brain.

The howler started to fall limp, but that wasn't enough for Mint. She wanted it to _stay_ dead! Having spent so much time in mid-air, the strength had returned to her legs, allowing her to once more kick the air away from her at high speed and arc until she was behind its ears.

With a mighty battle-cry, she sliced its spinal-cord in half before the howler could hit the ground!

Landing on its back, the sudden stillness in the clearing caught Mint off-guard. The whole exchange couldn't have lasted more than twenty seconds…

...The beast beneath her wasn't breathing...she did it. She'd done it! She'd killed the howler!

She gracefully tumbled off the carcass, landing next to its severed head. She had to lift its lips to see the fang she needed, but was able to slice it off nonetheless. Before she could stow it away however, the forest started to turn around her and she collapsed onto all fours. Her rage had receded, and the dizziness had returned.

 _I still haven't recovered from the bloodloss!_ she remembered. _I still haven't...recovered...but I still managed to kill yellow-eyes!_

She was in disbelief as she rubbed her head. How hard had she pushed herself?

"Mint!" came Keo's voice behind her. "What in the world?! You were amazing!"

He helped her back to her hooves.

"I...I don't...know...what came over me…" was all she could say, putting a delirious paw on her forehead.

Even her legs were shaking. Her body wasn't ready for this much adrenaline.

"Well, you got what you needed," said Keo as he picked up the severed fang. "Fir's plan actually worked! That clever spirit-"

"Fir!" Mint gasped, remembering what had happened before.

"Oh, uh, Mint?...About that-"

"FIR!" she screamed, ignoring Keo's somber expression and rushing over to Fir's limp form.

"Mint! Wait!"

But Mint had to know. She had to know that he wasn't dead! Ignoring her own dizziness, she slumped down next to him. His body was covered in bruises, marred with gashes and holes from the howler's teeth, and some limbs were horribly disfigured. The sight brought her so much emotional pain, she had to fix him!

Without hesitation, she grabbed his paw and started to cast regenerate, willing her energy to travel down his arm and into him, but she was shocked when she felt it get blocked. The green aura of her spell fizzled out uselessly.

"What?!" she said, genuinely confused. "Wh-wha-?...NO!"

She tried again, but to no avail. Once more, the green aura petered out as it would if there was nothing left to heal...but there was clearly everything to heal! In that moment, she heard her father's voice once more.

 _KUUU!_ she heard him call.


	13. The Bond

Ori saw her body, motionless in the moonlight, and he knew the worst had come to pass.

"No," he uttered quietly. "No! I can't lose you again!"

He rushed over to his owlet friend, hoping in vain to at least see the rising and falling of her chest.

Nothing.

He dejectedly sat down beside her, and the true gravity of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks.

"I...I can't save you," he whimpered to himself. "I can't!"

She was a creature of the dark, so he knew he couldn't use regenerate to save her life.

"You...you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for our light," he said, full of guilt.

Ori knew from day one that Ku's defective wing was a direct result of his father calling out to him. If it weren't for the protective shell of her egg, she would've been burnt to a crisp too!

"...I'm sorry, Ku!...I wasn't strong enough..." he sobbed. "...I wasn't strong enough to correct our mistake!...I'm sorry..."

When Shriek attacked, he thought it was best for the two of them to put some distance between each other, but neither he nor Ku could have expected the floor under them to be so fragile! By the time the deformed owl broke it under Ori, there was no way for him to react in time.

Suddenly, he noticed shadowy figures gathering around him, and he immediately got defensive. He drew his spirit edge and started slashing it around.

"No! Stay back!" he yelled angrily. "Don't touch her!"

It was then that he noticed they were all just Moki, and he started to cry.

"Get away from her!" he yelled through tears.

They didn't budge, for they could see right through him. His sword dissolved in his trembling paw as he let out another sob.

"Get away!" he said before dropping to his knees.

It was no use. He was just saying words now. Nevertheless, they approached and started comforting his sad, glowing form.

. . .

The memory faded, and Mint once again looked down at Fir's disfigured form.

"Fir?" she sobbed, shaking his body. "Fir! Get up! PLEASE!"

"Mint...he's-" started Keo.

"NO HE'S NOT!" she interrupted, whipping her head around and revealing her teary pupils. "I still see him breathing! He's not dead!"

"I know!"

Keo practically had to tear her off of Fir's body.

"No! Nohooo!" she squealed, fighting against him. "Why won't it work?!"

He forcefully spun her around and held her at arm's length.

"Mint, listen to me! It was a bonding experience!"

"...What?!..."

"We've all seen the other animals do it, but we don't do it to reproduce. We don't even do it for pleasure! It was purely a bonding experience and nothing more!"

Mint stood still in his paws, confused but still crying.

"What do you-?"

"When you both climaxed, did anything come out of him and go into you?"

She thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head.

"No."

"Then there you go...he didn't do anything irreversible! The only way more of us come into this world is by falling as leaves from Spirit Trees and Spirit Willows…"

Mint was still confused. She pointed at Fir's body behind her.

"But...what does that have to do with-?"

"He thinks he impregnated you...because he doesn't understand."

Her eyes widened in horror. She knew where this was going.

"He's ashamed of what he did," said Keo. "So he's refusing your call to heal him."

"No."

"He wants to die."

"No!"

She tried to tear herself away again, but Keo caught her.

"And it's not just you he's refusing!" he snapped. "It didn't work when I tried it, either!"

Mint's eyes were sealed with tears. She didn't even want to open them.

"Please don't blame yourself," said Keo. "I should've been more clear...I assumed you both knew when I really, really shouldn't have! This is all my fault, okay?"

"...S-so that's it?..." she said through sobs. "...There's nothing we can do?..."

"I didn't say that."

Finally, she willed herself to open her eyes and look at him.

"There may still be time," he continued. "But we can't teleport unless all three of us are conscious, so we'll have to hoof-it back! Even if showing them the fang won't work, maybe we can find a healing plant before they find us."

Keo was right: all hope wasn't lost. Regardless of whether the other spirits would be willing to help Fir, if there was one place where he could be healed, it was Niwen.

"But Mint," he said. "We have to move, now! I'll carry him."

" ***sniff*** Okay," she breathed.

. . .

Since Mint had only recently learned how to teleport, backtracking through an area didn't feel as weird as it might have otherwise. Even though she had never taken this route backwards, it wasn't the most complicated thing in the world to do.

That being said, every step felt treacherous, especially when slowed down by Keo hefting around Fir in a fireman's carry. But then came a spark of hope: a healing plant, glowing green on a log!

"What is that doing way out here?" whispered Keo.

"We might be getting close to home," Mint whispered back. "The spell might not work, but maybe we can heal him with that!"

"Okay, but be careful. The corruptions around here could use that as bait."

Mint just turned and stared at him with a disbelieving, and almost pleading, look.

"You heard me," he said. "I'm not risking getting ambushed while he's like this! Go grab a life orb and bring it here, where we know it's safe. I'll stay by Fir, just in case."

"You want me to go all by myself?!"

"I wouldn't ask you to do something that I couldn't do myself! Now hurry! We've wasted time as it is!"

With a sigh of both frustration and worry, Mint scurried over towards the plant. Heeding his warning, she slowed to a tip-toe as she came near it.

_Grab it quietly, then leave. There's no need to-_

***rustle**rustle***

Mint's ears twitched at the sound of disturbed bushes behind her, which was followed soon after by a verminous hissing.

Snapper ambush!

Instinctively summoning her spirit arc, she whipped around and fired three arrows at a trio of the vile creatures! Unfortunately, because her reflexes were dulled by malnutrition, only two were hit, leaving Mint with a pit in her stomach as the last one violently tackled her to the ground.

Her spirit arc disappearing upon losing focus, the lone spirit guardian squealed in pain and terror as the remaining snapper grabbed her neck and started to repeatedly smash her head into the dirt.

Luckily the ground wasn't made of anything harder or she'd have lost consciousness!

Finally, the corruption settled on simply pinning one side of her head to the ground and using its free claw to stab her repeatedly in the stomach.

Screaming in pain and terror, Mint's instincts took over, and before she knew it, she'd sliced it in half with her spirit edge! Continuing to hyperventilate as its carcass fell limp atop her, she kicked and shoved it off in disgust.

That had to be the last one. She quickly broke the glowing, green pod and carried away the singular life orb it produced.

"Are you alright?" asked Keo as she stumbled down next to Fir, having helplessly watched the whole ordeal.

She immediately began rubbing the life orb against Fir's body.

"I can heal myself later," she replied breathlessly.

"Are you sure? You know regenerate can't heal poison, right?"

"I'm not poisoned! Quit worrying!"

It was working! The bones in Fir's arms and legs began to right themselves, and open wounds began to seal shut, but something else was off. The moment Mint felt a nauseating dizziness fill her head, she knew Keo was right. She looked down at the stab wounds on her stomach and saw the skin around them turning a corrupted purple.

It was festering, and fast! She felt her arms go numb and, unable to hold it anymore, the life orb slipped out of her paw and rolled to the side. She wanted to vomit, but because she hadn't eaten anything since last evening, all she did was gag between sobs. It didn't just hurt, it burned! The corrupted poison was so opposite to her very being, that it was practically dissolving her from the inside out!

Keo snatched the green ball of life and tried to put it up to her stomach, but she pushed it away.

"Give it to him," she croaked.

"Mint-"

"Give it to Fir!"

"Mint! You're no good to him dead!"

She just glared at him with a mixture of sorrow and anger.

"Please!" he said desperately. "I'm not losing you both!"

He was right: there was no other option. That choice was gone the moment she got stabbed with venom. With misty eyes, she grabbed the life orb and swallowed it whole.

The burning sensation was gone instantly. In less than half-a-minute, the nausea was gone, the wounds were gone, and Mint could feel her arms once again. She snatched Fir's paw and tried to heal him again, only for the spell to be blocked once more. She could no longer hold back her anger.

"DAMMIT FIR!" she shouted, throwing his arm into the dirt.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked on at his now mildly disfigured form. Her breathing, fast and shallow, slowed into sobs as anger turned to sadness.

"Don't you feel my pain?" she said in a heartbroken tone of voice. "You're hurting us!"

She knew it was a selfish thing to say, but it truly felt like Fir had lost his will to care. There was nothing else she could say, so she opted instead to bury her face into his chest as she broke down and cried.

. . .

Once Mint had calmed down enough for them to walk again, it wasn't long before they had finally reached the edge of the dark forest. Niwen. Home, in all its lush and colorful beauty, was finally back in sight.

"Keo? Why are we so...different?" she asked.

The question seemed to catch him off-guard.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"No other creatures glow like we do, no other creatures are born the way we are, and now even...even…"

 _"...That_ is different?"

"...Yeah…and I just don't get it!"

"Why does it bother you? I always thought those things were sort of proof that we're special."

"Sure, but…"

She sighed.

"...remember when I told you about how I ventured into these woods alone?"

"Yes."

"It's all because of that shard merchant we saved. She was scared of me...of us!"

"I remember."

"Doesn't that worry you? The fact that we can't relate to them? We hold so much power and influence in the forest-"

"-that they think we could wipe them out at any time?"

"Couldn't we?...Might we?"

"Well, come to think of it, I've never really been friends with someone who wasn't a spirit guardian...and I wouldn't have thought the Elders might have been abusing their power until they willingly tried to kill you..."

"Not to mention they were the ones who taught us that all other creatures are inferior!"

"But...aren't they? Zar even mentioned it right before your execution."

"He implied it, but that's not the point! Superior or inferior, the forest needs all of its inhabitants in order to thrive! Everyone...is necessary…"

"So, what are you trying to say?"

Mint pulled out yellow-eyes' fang.

"As good as an idea it may be," she started. "I think it's only a last resort...as painful as this is to say, I don't think we can trust any other spirit."

"But who else are we supposed to go to?" Keo asked.

"...There was one creature dad met who could see him wherever he went...so long as he was within Niwen…"

Keo donned a skeptical look.

"I don't know how he was able to do it, but if he's still alive, then maybe he'll answer a call for help...and arrive before any other spirits can..."

. . .

"Motaaay!" Mint whispered into the brush, practically hissing. "Motay, if you can hear me, we have an injured friend and we need a place to hide! Please!"

"This is ridiculous!" said Keo. "No creature can hear you, Mint!"

"Shhh! He can!"

"Even if he could, what reason would he have to help us?!"

"I said, _shush!"_

Keo still began mumbling to himself anyway.

"How is a chameleon even supposed to-?" he started, before being interrupted by the mad rustling of the undergrowth in front of them. "Whoa!"

Out slithered an ocean-blue chameleon with glowing orange eyes that looked less-than-pleased.

"Who are you?!" he asked.

"M-Mint!' Mint stuttered. "My name is Mint. I-I'm the one that called...you...are you Mot-?"

"Motay has been dead for years," he interrupted. "The only other spirit who knew him was your father, and he's never talked to any of you...no spirit has ever sought him out before or since...how do you know his name?"

"I-I received his memories from the light...please, our friend needs help."

"Likely story!" he hissed. "Why should I help one of you?! Go get one of your glowy-buddies to heal him!"

"They won't!" said Keo. "They wanna kill us!"

"Why would they-?...wait...I recognize you three! One of you stole the spirit tree's light didn't you?!"

"Yes," said Mint, a smile finally coming to her face. "You saw!"

"It was you!" he said, pointing at her. "Which means...is that what happened when it zapped you?"

"Yes!"

The chameleon breathed a heavy sigh as he looked over at Fir's unconscious body.

"Okay, I'll take you to our hideout," he said. "We grow our own healing plants there. He'll be okay, just follow me!"

Mint could hardly contain her joy and relief as he scuttled away.

"Thank you!" she said, scurrying after him. "Thank you so much!"

"This just worked," Keo deadpanned as he picked Fir back up. "There's no way this just worked!"

As the four of them grouped up and started to make their way through defilade, the chameleon realized he'd forgotten to introduce himself.

"The name's Taeguk, by the way," he said.


	14. Resistance

"So I obviously can't take you to Motay, but I can take you to his son," said Taeguk. "His name is Timo, and he leads our little resistance group."

"Resistance group?!" said Keo. "Since when were we fighting a resistance?!"

"Ever hear of a squad of spirits sent away to kill 'remaining corruptions' or 'dark-slash-grey creatures' who 'threatened the light'?" the lizard asked with air-quotes.

"Yeah...more in recent weeks actually."

"Yeah, that's us."

"Oh my gosh...Mint, you were right!"

"I'll try to explain things to Timo, but don't be surprised if the others aren't too happy to see you. No other spirit has ever seen this place."

"So why trust us this much?"

"I don't. In fact, I'm taking a massive gamble by showing you our hideout! But if it pays off, you three could be the most help we've ever gotten!"

Taeguk led them into a cave built under the Wellspring Glades, the group never had to dodge the sight of any other spirits, since he'd shown them a back-route to get in. Just after the entrance, there was a sizable overhang above the main lobby area; before jumping down, he turned around and gave them a chilling warning.

"Again," he said coldly. "We've been at war with you guys, so don't be surprised."

With that, he jumped down. They didn't follow him immediately, as they were cautious to not jump far distances while carrying their wounded friend.

"Taeguk! Where'd you go?" they heard one inhabitant say from below. "You left without even taking a weapon!"

"It was...urgent," he replied. "Where's the boss? I got new info to deliver."

"In his office," said another inhabitant. "What's the matter? You look more stressed than usual?"

"We've got...visitors...and I swear to you that they can be trusted!"

Mint and Keo had spotted a ladder and were making their way down as he spoke.

"Greet them as you will, but I promise I'll explain everything in a minute!"

They heard him scurry off towards the back. The second that the spirits' hooves touched the wooden floor, they could feel multiple eyes burning holes in the back of their heads! They heard a number of gasps, and turned to see all sorts of creatures: moki, chameleons, beavers, gorlek, and more, all staring at the three of them with their mouths agape.

"Oh, crud."

"He led them to us!"

"What was he thinking?!"

Mint cautiously began to walk forward with Keo in tow, nervously waving at them with a dainty smile. When no one returned the gesture, the smile disappeared and she opted instead to anxiously hold her arms in towards her body. She just looked straight forward, trying her best to pay no attention to the cacophony of whispers. All she wanted was to sit at the table ahead of her and wait for Taeguk to return, but she would never get there.

A faded-yellow chameleon slithered to her from the side, ramming into her and shoving her against the opposite wall. At the same time, a moki wielding a small spear knocked Keo onto his back, Fir's unconscious body loudly flopping down to the floor of the hideout.

Mint's chest was pinned to the wall and a knife was held up to the back of her neck. The spirit's two paws were raised in surrender and she could barely see the creature out of the corner of her eye.

"Give me one good reason not to snap you like a twig!" she yelled into Mint's ear.

She probably could. Her grip was too strong for Mint to wiggle free! The spirit guardian was in shock; she just could not understand the need for such hostility. She felt her reptilian breath get closer to her ear.

"You've got 'till de count of five," she snarled. "One."

Her breaths quickened, but her throat closed-up. The chameleon's intimidation was working almost too well!

"Two."

What was she supposed to say?!

"Four and three-quarters!" she skipped.

"Because I don't wanna hurt you!" she cried. It was all she could think to say; it was the truth after all. Even in this awkward position, the guardian spirit could still kill her. But she never saw chameleons as hostile in the short time that she had been alive.

"Yeah, right!" said the moki pointing his spear down at Keo, his eyes never wavering from the spirit. "Your kind has killed too many of us for us to fall for that!"

"No! No, look! Look!" said Mint frantically, putting her own paws behind her back and displaying her empty palms. "Please! You can tie me up all you want! I won't hurt you!"

"You lie!" she hissed, pressing the knife harder into her neck.

This prompted a high-pitched squeal from the young spirit as she pressed her palms into the wall, desperately trying to push it away and create more space for her neck despite knowing that was impossible with nothing but cave rock on the other side!

"Ha, haa! Listen to that pathetic squeal!" said a drunk gorlek at the bar across the room. "Make her do it again!...The _liar!"_

"The enemy!" squeaked the moki on Keo, bringing the tip of his spear closer to his face.

"PLEAheese!" Mint half-yelled, half-cried. "I'm not your enemy!"

But before the room could actually start chanting those words, another voice rose above them.

"She's not lying!" said an elderly, red chameleon. "Let her go, Shikun!"

To Mint's surprise, when he talked...everyone listened. Instantly.

The chameleon holding her, the one named Shikun, looked behind her, and with a frustrated grunt lifted the knife off of her neck and took her slimy hands off. Only then did Mint realize that she had been squeezed; when she turned to face the faded-yellow lizard, she suddenly had to drop to her knees in exhaustion.

Paws in her lap, and before Shikun could scuttle away, the young spirit looked up at her with a forlorn expression and asked, "What happened?...What have the spirits done to you all?"

She yelped as the chameleon backhanded her across the face and left, leaving a visible bruise on Mint's cheek. That was her answer.

 **.** **.** **.**

"I am so sorry about that," said Timo. "Forgive her. Shikun has a past...and doesn't understand your...particular situation."

He had sat Mint and Keo down at the table she'd wanted to sit at originally. While he spoke, the two of them were practically scarfing down the few fruits they were given to eat; this was the first time they'd eaten in a while, but they still felt guilty eating _their_ food.

Even so, Mint took a swig from a small, wooden jug and almost spasmed as the cold, refreshing water went down her throat. Her mouth had been so dry, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a solid drink of anything! There was the lake at the meadow, but that wasn't constantly filtered like a river, so she and her two brothers had refrained from taking more than a couple pawfulls of water from it at a time. This water was from a spring somewhere in Niwen, and every body of water in Niwen was as pure as can be!

"I forgave her before she even let me go," she said after swallowing. "But...this is all news to me. What have we...what have spirits...been doing this whole time?"

Never mind that she'd had several near-death experiences in just the past few days, the revelations she's been having were almost scarier: first the meadow beyond, then her father's true reason for saving Niwen, and now a hidden war that her own kind had never spoken to her about?! And as if that wasn't enough, the spirit she'd bonded with was unconsciously fighting for his life...no...possibly _not!_ At least Taeguk turned out to be the resistance's best doctor; he and a few others were currently treating him in the next room, but she couldn't be sure. The jug of water quivered mildly in her paws; she almost didn't want to hear Timo's answer.

"From what I understand, the spirits of Niwen want the forest for themselves," said Timo. "This has been going on for just over a decade, ever since your numbers exceeded a couple dozen."

"Why?"

_Why am I asking?! Why am I doing this to myself?!_

She wasn't sure if her heart could take it.

 _No! I have to know!...I have a_ right _to know!_

"It all started when your five Elders were on their own for a while. As their skills grew, they began to see themselves as superior to all other beings. They've burned villages, slaughtered women and children, anyone who wouldn't stay in line."

Mint gulped when she saw his solemn expression. Sadness and anger radiated from his aura, and she knew he'd likely seen these things himself.

"Let's just say, Shikun was a mere hatchling when her parents were killed."

Mint nearly dropped her cup when she went to set it down, before placing her head in her violently quivering paws. No words could describe what was going through her head right now.

"How do you know all of this?" asked Keo.

"We chameleons keep track of all the spirit guardians here in Niwen," he began. "When more of you started showing up, my dad started a business of record-keeping for every spirit!"

"So, you basically stalk us for a living?"

"Well, father was more of the stalker type. The rest of us just did it for the money."

"But, how are you able to see everything we do without leavin-?"

"Trade secret," Timo interrupted. "Sorry!"

"What...what's the point?"

"Let's just say, it's something spirits could learn how to do, too. If that happens, we lose our strategic advantage!"

"Oh...I guess that makes sense..."

"As soon as my father witnessed the first of these atrocities, he moved his business underground, both literally and figuratively I guess. He saw that this spot was, and still is, a place where no spirit had ever been...until you three. As the resistance grew, he spent the remainder of his days tracking their every move for them. If it wasn't for the work we do, your species' death-rate would be too low for any ecosystem! It still kind of is, especially recently, with more spirits like yourselves learning how to fight from a young age...along with learning a certain healing spell..."

An uneasy silence descended on their table as Timo let all of that sink in.

"From what I also understand, we, as in everyone who isn't a spirit, used to have massive respect for you guys," said the chameleon. "Well, there is still respect shown, but it's-"

"Feigned," Mint completed, starting to cry as she remembered the shard merchant.

"I know this must be hard for you to hear. You seem genuine, but the rest of your kind are...at best they've lost their way…"

"Did we even _have_ a way?"

"Not that I can remember, but that doesn't mean _never._ Especially at the time when your father arrived-well more like, fell out of the sky-everyone certainly respected _him._ In fact, they were happy to see him!"

The memory appeared in Mint's mind of Ori riding Ku through the storm, and of how he fell off.

"Wait!" said Mint, perking up. "Do you still have records of my dad?"

"Come to think of it, I do," said Timo. "They're in a dusty, old corner of my father's old office. I've only touched them a few times since I inherited the business, but I can pull them out for you if you're curious."

She nodded furiously. She still had so many questions! And finding out more about her father wasn't the only thing looking up: as they were talking, Taeguk had left the adjacent room and walked up to their table.

"Uh, boss?" he said. "He's awake."

"Good timing," said Timo. "Come, Mint. I think all three of you should see what those records have to say."


	15. Motay's Records

"I don't know if he forgives me or not," said Zar.

"You drove them out of Niwen and into a place where they cannot survive," Issen replied. "You think that's not enough?"

The two of them spoke privately beneath the Spirit Tree, periodically looking up at its glowing, orange power source.

"You and I both know how well they've been trained," he responded. "And as long as they could still be alive, they could come back!"

He turned away from her and clenched his fists.

"I could've killed Mint _right there!"_ Zar responded indignantly. "We voted to kill her ourselves, but failed to deliver on that promise! We shouldn't have tried to do it so...symbolically-!"

"Why does this have you so worked up?" Issen calmly interjected. "If they come back, they'll likely be too hungry and tired to fight. Then you can have all three of them to yourself!"

"You know why I'm worried," he said darkly, holding his paws out toward his father. "Don't you feel it? His light...his glow...it's faded...it doesn't have the same warmth that it used to!"

Issen gravely stood up with the help of her wooden staff and looked in the same direction. She understood exactly what he was talking about.

"He's hurt," he continued. "And disappointed...in us! He knows we could've done better!"

Zar, with his one eye, could only stare dejectedly at the ground after saying that.

"I don't even know if killing them will make up for our mistake anymore," he finished.

"But that's if they come ba-"

" _When_ they come back!" he snapped, pointing a finger at his sister. "Like I said: we trained them too well to just go and die out there!"

As if on cue, the hurried hoofsteps of a messenger spirit could be heard behind them.

"My Elders! My Elders!" came the voice of the young spirit. "Zar! Our scouts have reported in! There's no mistaking it. All three of them survived!"

"Told ya!" said Zar.

"I'm not finished," the messenger went on. "They were last seen heading toward the Wellspring Glades. We don't know how they evaded detection for that long, but we think we've managed to track them to a potential hideout beneath the area!"

"Well done, younger brother!" said Zar. "Go tell those scouts that all three of you deserve some rest. You'll all have the honor of burning that hideout to the ground come morning!"

With a big and relieved smile, the messenger spirit saluted and scurried off.

"Well, it sounds like you'll have your chance to find out sooner than expected," said Issen. "Are you sure you're up for this? That doesn't sound like a run-of-the-mill, scouting mission..."

"Oh, believe me," said Zar. "I've been waiting too long for this already!"

The one-eyed spirit then summoned a spirit spike before immediately hurling it at a nearby rock with deadly precision.

"It's not like I haven't done this before, _clueless,"_ he mumbled.

"What was that?" asked Issen. "Did you just...call me a name?"

"What? No! I didn't say anything!"

 **.** **.** **.**

Fir wordlessly handed the wooden jug back to the moki that had given it to him. He sat in a makeshift nest, fitted into a small alcove dug into the side of the cave and large enough for him to lay down in.

"Huh, not even a 'thank you'?" she said indignantly. "Figures. You spirits are all the same!"

Normally, he would have retorted, but he wasn't in the mood. In fact, he wasn't feeling much of anything right now. The last thing he could remember was being eaten alive by the howler they'd been hunting. Was this some kind of hell that he'd been sent to? No, his arm was in a cast. No hell would put his arm in a cast.

"I'm not dead, am I?" he asked in monotone.

"What?! Of course not!" the moki replied. "Though, now that you mention it, I kinda wish you were…"

He just looked at her incredulously.

"What kind of nurse _are_ you?!"

When her glare didn't waver, Fir just stuffed his head into his paws in response.

"Never mind," he said.

Then the door creaked open, and in walked two chameleons followed by two familiar spirit guardians, one of which had two antennae atop her head instead of the three atop his (or the one on Keo, sticking out like a horn), ears so big they went down past her knees, and a small bruise on one of her cheeks.

At the sight of him, she froze. Her face took on the now familiar expression that made her look like she was about to cry. He briefly met her sorrowful look with an angry one, before facing away from her and laying down on his bed.

Such a simple gesture, but it was enough to nearly break her heart. Now, tears did come back to her eyes as she rushed over to him.

"Did you kill it?" he asked coldly.

"What?" was Mint's reply.

"Yellow-eyes?...Did you kill 'em?"

"Yeah! And it was all thanks to-"

"Good," he interrupted. "Now go away."

Suddenly, Mint was frozen and she let out a sigh of shock. For a moment, even she didn't know what was wrong. Then it hit her: this time, her heart really _was_ broken.

"Wh-what?" she stuttered.

"I said go away!"

...But she couldn't leave...she would never leave him in a million years!...slowly, anger crept back into her soul...

"I almost died trying to get you back here," she said. "Did you know that? Oh! Of course you wouldn't, because you were too busy being FULL OF YOURSELF!"

"Shut up," Fir replied.

Mint only got angrier. It wasn't the hateful kind of anger, instead it had a tinge of her caring nature infused into it.

"We came back _home,_ Fir!" she continued. "Back to where they'd want to kill us, because we knew it was the only place where you'd have a chance! We took a risk for you! So...so…"

Suddenly, she took a turn, a turn she didn't even think she'd take.

"So why did you save me? Why did you teach me?" she asked. "And...and why would you _bond_ with me if all you wanted to say was 'go away'-?!"

"Because I love you!" Fir snapped, spinning around and sitting upright.

But his sudden motion didn't faze her. Instead she just looked at him in shock and confusion through sorrowful eyes.

"I've loved you since the day you fell and it sickens me!" he continued, his own body starting to quiver and his voice starting to sob. "It sickens me to say that because you're my _sister!"_

He said it all to her face, his eyes locked to her own. Mint could only whimper before him.

"And siblings. Don't. Do. That-"

"Why does it have to be so weird?!" she suddenly shouted.

The two were silent for a brief time, but for those few moments, everyone could feel the tension in their auras.

"...What if we're just different, Fir?..." she said more quietly. "You love me and I love you back...isn't that ENOUGH for you?!"

When he didn't respond, she put her paws on his shoulders. If there was a time to tell him, it was now.

"What you did, Fir...did nothing."

Surprised, he locked eyes with her again. Yes! This was what he needed to hear!

"We don't reproduce like the other animals," she continued. "It's okay!"

"You mean," Fir started. "I didn't-?"

"No!" she said, shaking her head and smiling. "All we did was bond, that's it."

Mint moved her paws down to his palm and held it tightly.

"And isn't that all you wanted?" she stated more than asked.

Then she pressed her head into his chest, closing her eyes.

"Please...just let me heal you!" said Mint, holding his paw in hers. "You healed me once, now please just let me heal you-"

Her voice gave way to sobs, and as she willed her spell into him, he finally accepted it in. A mild crackling of bones could be heard as Fir's limb was fixed, and, without taking the cast off, he wrapped his arm around her neck and nuzzled her.

"I remember watching your leaf touch the ground," he said somberly. "You stood up so quickly! You nearly stumbled trying to find your balance, and then completely forgot about it when you saw butterflies go past you. Your smile, your innocent laugh, you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen…"

He pulled away, and once more they looked into each other's burning white pupils.

"And you still are," he continued, placing a paw on her cheek. "When I found out you'd stolen the Spirit Tree's light...I was angry...angry that it had to be _you!_ You had just been assigned to me and Keo, and I'd found myself wondering...do I tell her?... _how_ do I tell her?...that...I love her?"

He closed his eyes, forcing out tears.

"...I thought I'd never get the chance..."

Mint could only smile, shedding tears of joy as their noses came closer together.

"You don't have to wonder anymore," she breathed, right before their lips connected again, Mint holding the back of his head, with Fir's arms wrapped around her perfect waist.

They would never know how long it lasted, or who turned away in disgust, and they didn't care. This was their special moment, and nothing was going to take it away.

 **.** **.** **.**

"I must admit I was wrong about your kind," said the moki nurse. "You aren't all so cold and unfeeling."

"I mean, none of us are," said Fir. "I just don't understand what it is we've been doing?"

"To say you don't wanna know is an understatement," said Mint. "But I had to know the truth...and as much as it will hurt, you need to hear it too."

Timo explained to Fir the same thing he'd explained to Mint and Keo. His reaction was...predictable. He put his head in his paws as the four of them now sat at the table in the chameleon's office. While he was speaking, the moki left the room.

"I wasn't just training to control our own," he started, head in his paws once again. "I was training to one day kill...innocents!"

Keo placed a consoling paw on his shoulder.

"All this time," said Fir. "And I never knew."

"You're only eight months old, Fir," said Keo. "Not even I knew! Though, I was starting to get suspicious myself."

"But...you trusted them?" said Mint. "The Elders? And that's why you said nothing?"

"We all put our trust in them...but I guess that's what brainwashing is, huh?"

"None of you could have known," said Timo. "And your father couldn't have known what he was doing either."

Timo pushed a small record-book across the table to Keo.

"I wonder what they would say if they knew the truth about him," he said. "This is everything my father had on yours from the time he arrived in Niwen...well, more like fell-out-of-the-sky."

With trepidation, Keo opened the ledger and began flipping through it. Other than the fact he was seeing actual records of his own father for the first time, he was astonished by the sheer level of detail that was put into them!

"...What in the world?..." was all he could say. "Look at this! Everything is here: how many times he teleported, how many times he dashed, bashed, and grappled…"

Fir scooted up beside him to look as well.

"Forget that! He saw the number of times he just jumped or wall-jumped!" he said. "How?"

Timo just crossed his arms.

"Right...trade secret," said Fir. "I forgot."

He took the record-book from Keo as Mint joined in. Despite the insane amount of information before them, including how many corruptions he'd killed, how many spirit shards he found, all the places he'd discovered, how much spirit light he'd traded, even how far he swam, there were just a few disturbing notes at the top left that kept most of their attention.

"Number of...deaths," said Mint somberly.

"Deaths by hazard, deaths from corruptions," Fir listed. "...deaths by d-dr-drowning?!..."

"I guess he _did_ come here with soul link," said Keo gravely. "That is what you called it, right Mint?"

"...Yeah…"

"Forgive me for wondering this, but," Fir started. "You'd think if Motay went through all the trouble to record so much, he'd at least have the total number of deaths listed, too."

"Oh, he did," Timo answered. "Turn the page."

When Fir flipped the parchment, a separate piece of paper fell out. Tentatively, he picked the paper up and showed it to the chameleon.

"What is-?"

"It unfolds," said Timo darkly, interrupting the young spirit.

Fir shakily began to do so, almost hesitantly, as if an unbreakable curse were to befall him if he read its contents. Indeed it unfolded, and kept unfolding, more and more, so much that he had to set it down, and then still it kept unfolding! Finally, when all was said and done, it took up over half the space on the table.

But the worst part, what left the three spirits in wordless shock, was that the massive piece of paper was covered corner-to-corner with tally-marks.

Fir just slumped back in his chair.

"How...did he keep his sanity?" he asked when he could finally find his words.

"I don't think he did," Timo replied. "At best, he was barely holding it together! A note that my father wrote later on comments on his growing irritability with other creatures. I've never counted all the tallies myself, but it only makes sense."

"There's gotta be at least a few hundred, here!" said Keo in further astonishment.

Everyone sat in silence for some time.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Fir suddenly asked. "What if this is all faked, and you're brainwashing us?"

Looking up from the page of tally-marks, he went on.

"What if we've never committed any atrocities?" he said. "And you're just telling us that to get us on your side?"

"Is it really that hard to believe, Fir?" said Mint.

"Excuse me?"

"Our light can _burn_ things, Fir! Things and...and creatures, too…"

Mint placed a paw on the paper as though trying to console it the way a mother would her child, but the moment her palm touched the page, a violent tempest of memories swirled into her head.

She felt limbs being vaporized away by false light, before the rest of her body fell into sandy spikes; she felt herself tumbling through wooden gears in the wellspring and getting thrown out the other end with her body crushed in half; she even felt herself being torn apart by a swarm of corruptions!

It all rushed in-and-out of her mind in an instant, and suddenly she found herself standing away from the table, clutching her wrist as if she'd touched a surprisingly hot surface. She had backed away so quickly that her chair had fallen over and slid across the room.

Everyone was looking at her, stunned; she had screamed, startled by the memories. But they weren't done. The last one was the worst: when she heard her father speak.

_Please go away!...PLEASE!...Just leave me alone!_

He was limping through stagnated water, somehow injured already, with corruptions closing in from all sides. He sliced and diced away at them with his spirit edge, killing a slug-like corruption in his desperation. It exploded in his face, and the smell made him puke all over himself!

Finally they collapsed onto him, sinking him into the purple liquid.

_No! No, help!_ _Heeelp! I don't wanna-!_

Then his voice, already weak and traumatized, was snuffed out as he was pressed under the surface. He hadn't even had time to breathe-in beforehand, and soon found his lungs forcing in the surrounding muck!

Mint snapped back to the present, gasping for air. In her trance she had unknowingly fallen back against the wall, and she could only turn and press her face and paws onto it; she was suddenly so physically and mentally exhausted, that she couldn't even stop drool from coming out of her mouth. She felt Ori trying to hold back tears as the memory faded, and the tears coming anyway.

 _...Make them stop Dad…_ she thought. _...please!...I've seen enough!..._

Suddenly, paws took hold of her. She gasped and swatted them away, only to realize it was Fir trying to comfort her.

"S-sorry!" she stuttered. "I-I'm sorry!"

Then the smell hit her nose. She looked past him to see a pool of vomit staining the floor, and pointed a quivering finger at it.

"Is-is that-?" she started.

"Yours?...um...yeah," Fir completed. "You don't remember?"

Mint didn't know whether to nod or shake her head.

"Are you okay?" Fir asked. "What'd you see this time?"

"'What did she see?'" Timo repeated. "You mean...is this an effect from being zapped by the Spirit Tree's light?"

"Yeah, every so often, she sees his memories," said Keo, still calm and in his chair. "But I've never seen her this jumpy after a vision."

"It's real, Fir!" Mint whimpered. "It's all real. Every death I saw...they were all in Niwen."

"How can you tell?" he asked.

"...The locations all felt like home...except...dying..."

"This place was likely far more hostile than you could ever dream during the decay," said the red chameleon. "I'm shocked that you could recognize it at all!"

"Well, I guess that answers that question," said Fir. "Though, I hope you recognize why I had my doubts, Timo."

"No, I get it: all this information coming at you out of the blue, and all of it going against what you've been taught your whole life...believe me, I completely understand!"

"But none of this answers my real question," said Mint. "What are we?"

"Um...you're a spirit guardian," said Timo.

"No! I mean...what _is_ a spirit guardian?"

"Oh."

"We're so...different...and I don't know why!"

"Well, my educated guess has always been that you're all some physical manifestation of nature itself, wielding the very forces of nature as your abilities."

"But you can't know, can you?"

"No. Like I said: it's an educated guess. Not to mention I'm not one of you."

"But these days, being one of us means being kept from the truth," said Fir.

On that thought, the room descended into strained quiet.

"Well, let's think," said Keo, breaking the silence. "If we go off of Mint's reasoning for stealing the Spirit Tree's light, then that would imply we're unnecessary for the world."

"More than that!" said Mint. "I think decay wouldn't exist without us! You both saw what I saw: the land becomes so dependent on spirit trees to survive that it eventually wouldn't know what to do if one's power suddenly disappeared!"

"Almost like a disease," said Timo. "Or a cancer...my thoughts exactly."

"This already sounds ridiculous," said Fir.

"I agree," said Keo. "But we need to keep an open mind. After seeing dad's records, all I can say for certain is that we've known nothing this whole time!"

"...but a _disease?"_

"Whenever we're out in the decay, any corruptions that can move come at us like antibodies! How else do you explain that? They don't go after howlers or other dark creatures in the same way."

"Howlers are way bigger than corruptions. Why would they ever go after howlers?"

"Corruptions don't care about getting hurt, Fir! They don't even care if they get killed, as long as they kill you, or whatever their target happens to be. It's just that it's always us! Why only target us if we're not the disease?"

Everyone sat in thought for a moment. Suddenly, Fir's ears perked up.

"What if we're not a disease," he started, pointing a finger up at nothing in particular. "But a foreign body? Think about it: we look nothing like anything in the forest-"

"Everything doesn't look like anything else in the forest, Fir," said Keo. "It's called biodiversity."

"No! No, that's not what I mean. What I'm saying is...we are literally glowing! Name one other creature in this world that holds light within them in the same way we do."

"...I can't," said Keo.

"Right?"

This time, Fir pointed straight up.

"What if...we're not of this world?" he posed. "Like-"

"Aliens?" Mint finished with a tone of disbelief.

Fir then snapped his fingers and pointed at her.

"Yes! It's like...Timo! Consider this."

Fir ripped a loose splinter out of the floorboards.

"If I were to stab you with this splinter, I won't, but say I did. Wouldn't your immune system respond to it in the same way that it would some disease?"

"I suppose it would," Timo responded. "In fact, it would swell around it!"

"Exactly!" said Fir as he put the splinter down. "Sorry about that, by the way."

He and Mint both sat back down at the table.

"No worries," said Timo.

"I rarely ever say these words, but I think Fir is right," started Keo. "We are far more mentally and physically adept than any other species in this forest, like we're some kind of apex predator-"

"We're ridiculously small compared to a lot of creatures though," said Fir.

"But size isn't everything! We still have the capability to take down creatures hundreds of times our size; if that doesn't scream superiority, then I don't know what does!"

"I'm inclined to agree," said Timo. "Especially considering that your species is different in ways you may not even realize: you all can solidify light into weapons and other tools, your females never have periods...you guys don't even defecate! Do you realize how _weird_ that is?!"

All three spirits held puzzled looks.

"What's a period?" asked Mint.

"And what does deficate mean?" asked Fir.

Timo's glowing eyes widened. He didn't realize he might have to explain these things!

"Umm...don't worry about what a period is," he said. "As for 'defecate'...most animals, when they eat something, not all of it gets used...so they...get rid of it...as waste…"

"...out their-?" Fir started, pointing at his rear with a disgusted look.

"Yes," Timo quickly finished for him. "You may have seen other animals do that. You just never knew what it was until now."

"Oh...ew!"

"But the fact that guardian spirits don't do that is what's so crazy: it means you guys have one-hundred percent efficiency with whatever food you consume. With no other creature have I seen one-hundred percent of anything!"

He pointed at Mint's vomit on the floor.

"Come to think of it, that's the first time I've witnessed something come out!" he finished. "I really should get someone to clean that up…"

Keo contemplatively leaned forward in his chair.

"So we're not some disease, nor are we the good guys," he said, bringing the conversation back. "We just aren't meant to be...here."

"But then, what could have brought us here in the first place?" asked Mint.

"A meteor, perhaps?" Timo interjected. "But as for why, or whether or not that's even true, I don't think anyone could know. It's an event that could predate hundreds, or even thousands of spirit trees!"

"Then how are we to know?!" asked Fir, throwing his arms up in the air.

"...What if Seir knows?" Mint posed.

Everyone turned to her once again.

"She never said it to me, but I think she's an immortal being," she went on. "If anyone would have answers, it'd be her...right?"

"Even so, how would we get to her?" Fir replied. "No doubt that'd be the most heavily guarded place in Niwen after the stunt you pulled!"

"Ugh, I know! But…"

Mint sighed in defeat.

"I don't know," she moaned. "She said dad's memories would be able to explain more than she could, but I guess that didn't mean _everything."_

"Tell you what," said Timo. "Why don't you guys sleep on it? It's late, and maybe you'll be able to figure more out in the morning. Your heads will be clearer, you know?"

Keo nodded in agreement.

"I concur," he said. "We may not have a definitive answer yet, Mint, but I think we've made decent progress. At least we have one potential heading, that being Seir and finding a way to contact her again."

"I have one sleeping bag," said Timo. "I suppose the couple can sleep on the cot in the room adjacent."


	16. The Light! It Burns!

Mint lay with Fir in the cot he had shared with no one during his recovery, just staring into his eyes again, and he into hers. There was no more intense feeling of lust, only relief...relief that they could finally be together without hostility. Yet, no matter how warmly Fir held Mint, he could tell something was still off with her, that something was still concerning her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is it about dad?"

She nodded.

"He went through a lot, didn't he?" he said.

After seeing all the tally-marks, Fir knew that the amount of deaths she felt from his memories could only be a mere fraction of his true suffering. He hated how helpless he was to comfort her, for he could never control what entered and exited her mind; his only solace was in that she understood it was a battle she had no choice but to fight by herself.

"Yeah, but that's not quite what's bugging me," she said, momentarily averting his gaze. "Seir told me these memories were meant to explain more than she could in the 'limited time we had left'."

"Limited time?"

"Before you and Keo arrived to...you know…"

"Oh...right."

Fir still felt bad about how much he'd wailed on her then. He hadn't held back, treated her like a criminal. If the Elders hadn't wanted her alive for the execution, would he have killed her right then and there? He couldn't bring himself to even _begin_ thinking about it!

"But none of his memories have explained why spirit trees are necessary," Mint went on. "Why the light is necessary, or the existence of the meadow. _That's_ what's confusing me! They haven't really explained anything!"

"Well, maybe you haven't seen the whole picture yet?"

"All they've been doing is making me feel sorry for dad! Not that that's a bad thing, but...I don't know…"

"...Didn't Seir also say to 'be patient and listen?'...I'll say it again: I don't think you have the full picture yet..."

"Well, if not...then it's just taking too long!"

The two of them were quiet after that. After some time, Fir couldn't help but reach out and caress Mint's bruised cheek.

"Who did it?" was all he asked.

"One of the chameleons," she answered truthfully. "A yellow one named Shikun. But please don't be mad with her! Our kind killed her parents when she was a hatchling; she got another chance to take her anger out on a spirit and she took it."

"So you deserve to be punished for something that wasn't your fault? How is that fair?"

He put his paw on her arm.

"How is that ok with you?" he finished.

Mint pulled her eyes away from his gaze, inattentively placing one of her own paws on the discolored contusion.

"I don't know," she replied softly, turning away from him. "What if hubris, pride in being guardian spirits, is the reason so many are dead?"

"But _you're_ not prideful, Mint!" said Fir. "You've never looked down on anyone or anything ever-!"

"Yes I have!" she interrupted, sounding like she was about to cry again. "Admit it! We all have!...We've all looked at dark and grey creatures as though they were inferior...because they could never be like us!"

Fir's gaze wavered and he found himself looking up at the stone roof of their alcove, unable to say a word and almost ashamed that he'd assumed that about her. She was right. He and Keo had even joked about such things before. But to kill because of that belief? That just felt so...foreign!

"That line of thinking got so many killed, Fir!" she repeated. "What if...?"

"What if what?"

"What if we are meant to kill them all?"

"No."

"What if that's our purpose, Fir?! I can't shake that as a possibility and it _scares_ me!"

"No, no, no! Do you even hear yourself right now?!"

Fir turned back to her, gently pulling his body and hers close together.

"Listen: our purpose cannot be to kill innocent creatures!"

"But we can...so easily too! And what if they aren't innocent?!"

"Listen to yourself! You know it feels wrong!...Isn't Shikun innocent? Isn't Timo? And Taeguk? And that Gorlek in the Wellspring Glades?!-I never did catch his name...even that moki nurse...what have they done to deserve to die? Tell me! What have any of them ever done?!"

Mint stayed quiet except for the slowing of her breaths as she calmed herself.

"Whoever has been murdering innocent creatures are the ones with the problem," Fir continued. "It's not fair that you have to be punished like this: they deserve it, not you!"

"But who is _they,_ Fir?" Mint asked. "Who is it that actually deserves this?"

"I don't know," he said, resting a paw on her bruised cheek. "But I do know that this was unwarranted."

Seeing the green glow from his palm out of the corner of her eye and feeling its warmth, she immediately pulled her face down, covering the injury with one paw.

"No! Don't heal it!" she squeaked. "Please!"

"Why no-?"

"Just...just let me carry it for a while...ok?...Please?!"

"Alright! Alright...whatever you want…just, try not to sleep on it...let's get some rest...and get clearer heads in the morning..."

 **.** **.** **.**

Mint was shaken awake, not by another night terror, but by Fir, sitting upright in their little alcove and nervously looking past her.

"What is it-?" she started.

"Shh!" he interrupted.

It was then that she noticed he was watching the door; something was happening out in the main lobby.

"Is something burning?" she whispered.

"Yeah," he replied. "And that's what I'm worried about."

She followed him to the door, and when he opened it they were both greeted by a sight more horrific than either of them could have imagined. Shikun was the first thing they saw, but she was barely recognizable; her body was simply a mass of fourth-degree burns, and her screams were the most shock-inducing they'd ever heard. She flopped down before them, reaching out to them with a charred and cooked hand, before her screams abruptly ended and her arm lifelessly hit the floor. The worst part were her eyes, frozen in time and capturing the fear and pain before death.

Past her fresh corpse, flames enveloped the lobby she'd just come from; everything in the cave was on fire, even the ceiling! And at the center of it all was a small squad of spirits, led by a familiar one wearing an eyepatch.

"No," said Fir, before repeating himself with a voice singed with anger. "No!"

He began to stomp past Shikun's body.

"Fir! Wait!" Mint squeaked, grabbing his arm. "What are you doing?!"

For a moment, he stood motionless at her touch, before turning around and kissing her again. When he pulled away, she was too surprised and scared to speak.

"Stay here!" he yelled back to her over the noise. "It's you he's after...and he won't stop!"

Mint just started to shake her head as he let go of her entirely.

"Please!" he went on. "Try to find an exit!...I'll be right behind you!"

She knew he didn't mean that last part. His kiss felt too final. She tried reaching out to him again, but before she could get anywhere close, he shut the door in her face.

 **.** **.** **.**

Fir could barely believe what he was doing.

It wasn't all that different from leaving her alone with yellow-eyes, leaving her with the charred remains of that yellow-scaled chameleon, Shikun. But he knew their only known exit was now blocked by Zar, and they hadn't thought to look for an alternate one; the only way she was going to find a new one in time was if he bought time.

It was only a matter of time before Zar eyed Fir standing just outside the doorway, the young spirit's fists clenched in anger raging like the inferno around him.

"There you are!" said the Elder as he and his followers approached.

"Is it true?!" Fir asked, pointing an angry finger at Zar. "Was I just being trained to use this-"

He drew his spirit edge.

"-to kill creatures not of the light?! To kill innocents?!"

There was more to his leaving Mint alone: this was personal.

"Fir," said Zar. "Calm yourself-"

"TELL ME!"

His arms and legs quivered as tears rolled down his face. It couldn't be true. It _can't_ be true!

"No dark creature is innocent, Fir," Zar stated with finality. "They were the reason our father had to endure the blindness, and they need to be eradicated! For the safety of him and for the safety of our kind!"

Fir just shook his head, not just in disagreement, but also disbelief and disgust.

"She's back there isn't she?" Zar continued. "Fir...open that door."

"...No-"

"Open the damn door!"

"I don't wanna fight you," said Fir before clasping his sword in both paws. "But I will defend myself!"

Zar's indignant gaze didn't waver.

"Suit yourself," he replied, waving his followers to attack.

Initially, no one approached. They all knew Fir's reputation, the up-and-coming talent, the prodigy. They were all here for an easy slaughter, not a tango with their best warrior.

"Do I really have to say it out loud?" said Zar. "KILL HIM!"

His voice was enough to get one of them to charge, but in one swift motion, Fir blocked the strike and kicked him across the face, knocking him out. Then a second spirit came at him, and with a simple deflection and a swift blow to the head with the hilt of his sword, that one was then knocked unconscious, undoubtedly regretting his impulse decision in his dreams.

Seeing their fallen comrades, two more charged together, and in a flurry of spirit edges making contact with one-another, and mid-air kicks and punches, both attackers were left scrambling away in fear. Though Fir was calm and composed during the entire exchange, Zar too was unfazed, for he could see the young spirit's one weakness: his unwillingness to kill.

He was simply buying time, and Zar wouldn't have it.

"Impressive," he said, approaching with a flip of his sword. "But this is their first time killing...and you're already tired."

Fir inwardly started to panic. He was right, he was already sweating, both from the heat but also from fatigue, and Zar's singular, piercing eye could see right through him! Their swords clashed, and Zar dodged every punch and kick, letting Fir tire himself out. It was only a matter of time.

This was only going to end one way.

 **.** **.** **.**

Fir's dying cry of pain could be heard as Zar's spirit edge penetrated the door.

"NOOOOOOOO!" screamed Mint.

"Fool!" came his voice. "You forgot: We taught you everything you know!"

She heard him choke and gasp on the other side before her Elder's sword sliced sideways and she heard his body flop. Mint was speechless in her grief, until Zar kicked the door apart, at which point she squealed and recoiled backwards.

"I knew you were in here!" said Zar madly as his cohort filed into the room. "Any last words?"

Then she remembered: the fang!

"Wait! W-wait! Their leader!" she stuttered, pulling out yellow-eyes' tooth. "I killed their leader! Please! I'm not with them! I'm not your enemy!"

Zar seemed almost caught off-guard by the gesture, but his look of disapproval and disappointment soon returned.

"Pathetic," was all he said. "Even if that were true, you think _that_ would excuse what you did?"

Mint dropped the fang to the floor. She now understood why Fir did what he did: even he knew his plan was unlikely to work. Zar's expression gained a mild tone of curiosity when she just broke down crying; it wasn't long before he put two-and-two together.

"You bonded with him, didn't you?" he asked.

She looked back up at him. Though she didn't nod, her eyes said it all. He simply gave an amused huff.

"Fitting," he said. "That two traitors in love should die together!"

He marched towards her, raising his spirit edge. Mint's eyes widened and she backed away on her arms and legs, but soon hit the wall behind her. Once Zar was close enough, he sliced down towards her head.

"NO!" Mint screeched as she drew her own sword and swatted away the strike.

Zar was caught off-guard by this, but his composure soon returned when all he saw was the same cowering, cornered spirit, just with a weapon in her trembling paws this time.

"So, he trained you too?" was all he said.

Mint then realized that sweat was already matting her fur to her skin, and it wasn't just because the room itself was starting to catch fire! Ori had never dualed another spirit with this weapon, so right now it was almost as useless as a wooden stick! She needed something else, something _more._ But what?! It was bad enough that the room temperature was ever-rising, and even if she wasn't so distraught by Fir's death, her eyes would still be watering from the superheated dust; she could barely think straight, but she knew she only had seconds!

 _I take back what I said, dad! Don't make them stop!_ was all she could think. _I need your help! PLEASE!_

Or would he just lay down and die in this situation, knowing he'd just come back? Frantic, Mint repeatedly smashed her palm on the side of her head, trying desperately to rack her brain for something, _anything_ that could help her!

"I can't come back dad!" she whimpered. "I can't come back like you could! Pleheese!"

Suddenly, she had the thought to throw something at them, but what? There was nothing to throw! Then her spirit edge shrunk until it was just a ball of light in her paw. It glowed and burned like the fire behind Zar, but she couldn't feel it's heat; it was still made from the light energy within herself, so perhaps that was why?

There was no time to wonder, for Mint had remembered: her father's basic survival instinct never left him! Even after hundreds of deaths, he'd still try to run. He'd still try to fight! Without hesitation, she threw it towards Zar's hooves, and the blast knocked everyone away in a small radius! But throwing it meant throwing away the energy it took to make it; Mint was suddenly so exhausted that she didn't want to move, but she had to or they'd soon be on her again.

Mustering up what strength she had left, Mint got up and stumbled her way to the door leading to Timo's office.

 **.** **.** **.**

Keo whipped around, aiming a freshly-made spike at the door as a spirit burst through it, thinking it would be one that meant him and Timo harm, but instead let it dissipate when he saw it was a panting and distraught Mint. From the ground, she kicked the door shut and burst out crying.

"Keo! They killed Fir! They killed him, Keo!" she bawled as he helped her up. "Theykilledhimandnowwe'retrappedandtheirgunnakillustoo-!"

"Mint! Stay with me!" said Keo.

"It's such self-sacrificing bullshit! Why?! Why'd he have to-?"

"Mint! Listen: there's a vent right here behind his desk! Did he at least manage to stall them?!"

"Y-y-yes-?"

"Then help us open it! Okay? Him stalling wasn't in vain!"

 **.** **.** **.**

The door to Timo's office burst into a thousand tiny splinters when Zar threw a spirit spike at it in rage.

"I swear I'm gunna ENJOY killing that little-" he started as he crossed the threshold, cutting himself off when he saw the open vent and no one inside the room itself. "RAAAT!"

He picked up the wooden vent cover, gave it a cursory glance, and then burned it with his own two paws by using spirit flame.

"Gaah! I'm not crawling through there! Go back the way we came! Now!" Zar spat to his followers. "Cut them off at the surface! FIND THEM!"

 **.** **.** **.**

 **Author's Note:** basically, Zar is mad because he saw Mint and Keo vent and has to try and convince everyone at the emergency meeting.

Also, it's really hard to write or edit YouTube videos when you can't even figure out the solutions to your grad-school homework problems. I have to email my professor and classmates every time, and I can't bring myself to write or do anything until I've turned it in! Or else it feels like I'm slacking on all of my actual adult responsibilities.

That's pretty much my excuse as to why chapters may take too long to come out, but at least I've managed to get this one out to you all tonight! Hope you enjoyed ;)


	17. Dying Dignity

Mint's face was soaked with tears by the time she, Keo, and Timo had all made it to the surface. Timo was just silent. All of his father's work, the heart of the resistance, and potentially all hope for non-light creatures was all lost to the flames underground.

"Timo...I-" she swallowed a sob. "I'm so sorry! I led them right to you, and I-and you-and your work-"

"Mint," Timo started.

"-an-and all those p-p-people-!"

"Mint! They are not dead because of you!" Timo said, grabbing and shaking her small form. "Do. not. blame yourself!"

"...How?..." she softly weeped. "How is it not-?"

"It's Zar's fault!...and it's his alone...he didn't have to do what he did, and _never_ had to start it all in the first place! Do you understand?"

Reluctantly, Mint slowly nodded.

"The spirits will never know of our trade secret, allowing us to spy on them all," he continued. "They'll never even know we had that capability. Though the resistance is shattered, you may hold the key to ending this!"

Timo then backed away towards nearby undergrowth.

"We must go our separate ways, for going to the Spirit Tree will now surely be suicide for me," he said. "But you must find a way to speak to Seir and your father; perhaps, along with finding the truth, you can help broker a deal to make the spirits stop what they're doing."

"B-but I-what should I even say?!" Mint squeaked. "I-I don't negotiate-!"

"Mint, forget your siblings' genocidal behavior: your father was not like this. I don't know why you're the first child he's ever kind-of spoken to, but maybe he _wants_ you to reach him somehow! If you can get to him, he'll put a stop to it...to all of this!"

"There! Still by the entrance!" screamed a spirit from afar. "Get 'em!"

"Get to Seir and speak with your father!" Timo hissed. "End this war! Go!"

With that, he slithered out of sight, leaving Mint and Keo in the crosshairs of an angry mob of spirits.

"This way! C'mon!" Keo shouted, violently tugging Mint northward. "I know a shortcut to-!"

He was suddenly cut-off when a spirit spike landed directly between them, launching them apart. Mint, through her watery eyes, made out a barrage of arrows flying at her just in time to dash-roll out of the way. She was now cut off from her older brother and unable to follow him.

"Mint! Run!" he yelled. "RUN! Try to meet up with me at the Spirit Tree!"

The young spirit was beyond flustered: Fir was dead, the lives of tens-of-thousands now rested upon her shoulders, and there was zero time to process any of it! Her sobs becoming desperate breaths for air, she sprinted away in the opposite direction of Keo. She ran and ran, knowing where she had to be, but having no clue as to where she currently _was;_ dashing, bashing, and grappling anywhere she could, with tears constantly clouding her vision no matter how much she wiped them away, Mint knew it was only a matter of time before they cut her off, or another spirit tackled her out of the air from somewhere she couldn't see.

She grew tired, and she could feel her reflexes dulling from fatigue. Finally she couldn't take it anymore, and she landed near a large puddle of mud somewhere in Inkwater Marsh. With a deep breath, she dived in as deeply as she could and waited. After an exorbitant amount of time, having held her breath longer than any breath she'd ever held before, she finally came up for air. Surely everyone had passed, and she could get some semblance of a breather, but when she scantily wiped away the mire from her eyelids, she saw a small squad of spirits staring her down.

In desperation, she started wading away from them, only for an arrow of light to land right next to her, stopping her in her tracks. She raised her paws in surrender.

"Please!" she cried. "I don't...I don't wanna die!"

The mire had darkened her so completely that it hid the glow of her body. It also matted her fur to her skin, and the mud that had made it under her fur was already drying and starting to feel crusty.

"You should've thought about that before ripping the light from our tree! You're lucky Zar wants so badly to kill you himself, or I wouldn't've missed!"

Mint, with shaky breath and even shakier legs, placed her paws behind her head and plopped down to her knees in the mud, starting to cry from both fear and exhaustion. Suddenly, one of them grappled her neck from behind and started pulling. It caught her completely by surprise, making her lose balance and fall flat onto her back with an audible "splat". She rolled onto her stomach as she fought in vain against the glowing, blue ability. Her hooves dragging uselessly behind her, the dread of the inevitable unknown made her sobs even heavier. What were they going to do to her?! Finally, with tears streaming over the mud on her face, she was pulled out of the mud.

"No! Lemme go!" she bawled as they held her down. "I-I don't wanna fight you!"

She almost wished they'd just kill her now, but they wouldn't. They were sparing her for Zar and she knew it! One of them used his grapple ability to bind her paws behind her back. Screams of terror mixed into her crying as they did so. She fought against her new restraints in vain, but a swift kick to her abdomen later, and she was reduced to mere sobs and whimpers.

 **.** **.** **.**

They had gotten Keo, too.

He was down on his knees, restrained just like she was, and sitting before the Elder she'd hoped in vain to never see again. Once more, the young spirit was thrown down to her knees before Zar, and once more he looked down at her in pure fury and vengeance!

"Please...I'm sorry," she said softly and sorrowfully. "I didn't know what I was doing!"

"Mint! No!" said Keo beside her. "You don't have to apologize to-"

"Shut up!" Zar snapped. "Let her grovel."

The Elder then knelt down to Mint's eye level and grabbed the back of her head. She shut her eyes. She _was_ reduced to begging, but the humiliation paled in comparison to her need to live.

"I didn't know what I was doing," she repeated through sobs. "Forgive me I didn't know what I was doing… ***sniff***...I-I don't wanna di-OOH!"

Zar snatched her throat again. She felt him pull her head in close to his face, but she refused to open her eyes.

"You knew exactly what you were doing!" he growled.

Mint then screamed in pain as he grabbed both her antennae and pulled her head backwards, hearing the crackling of his spirit edge as he activated it.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" he said, standing and bringing the blade up to her neck.

Blind panic overcame her thoughts, and she began squirming and hyperventilating in his clutches.

"Now quit your whining and die like the warrior you were trained to be!" he said.

"B-but-but I don't wanna die!" she bawled.

"Hmph! Not even in front of him?...Open your eyes..."

She did so reluctantly, and saw to her surprise that they were directly underneath the Spirit Tree; they'd brought her right to him! In her panic she hadn't noticed his warmth.

"You really don't respect him at all do you?" said Zar.

That.

That comment made her momentarily replace fear with anger.

"No," she snarled back. "I respect him more than _any_ of you ever have!"

Zar gripped her antennae tighter, venting any and all anger left in her system and allowing the fear back in.

"Lies!" he hissed, putting the blade so close to her skin that she could feel it singe her fur!

Suddenly, the Elder was tackled from the side, freeing Mint from his grip! She noticed immediately that it was Keo, but how?! She looked to her side to see the spirit that had been holding him was knocked out cold, holding his crotch; Keo must have kicked him there with his free leg, then elbowed his captor in the side of the head when his grapple ability fizzled out from losing focus! Wasting no time, Keo pulled the spirit standing behind Mint towards himself with a grapple beam of his own, deactivating it and punching him straight in the face when he was pulled in close enough. Right as that spirit guardian fell unconscious at Keo's feet, Mint felt her arms become unrestrained; she was freed!

"Go to him Mint!" screamed Keo right as he entered a spirit edge dual with Zar. "Go! It's your only chance!"

She didn't hesitate. She ran right for her father's bark, climbing up the second she reached it. Zar didn't even bother with Keo, tripping him and stepping over his body, laser-focused in his rage on killing Mint and Mint only, following her to the tree trunk as fast as he could.

"No! Stop her!" Zar yelled. "She's going to steal away the light again!"

Once Keo had managed to catch his breath, he too gave chase.

 **.** **.** **.**

This was way harder than the first time, but Mint hadn't been so exhausted the first time. Every inch upward upon his bark felt like a hundred boulders were strapped to her back, but pure desperation kept her going. Her frantic climbing wasn't just out of fear though, there was something else nagging at her mind: soon, she would know the truth, and she would rather figure it out before getting killed! The mud still clinging to her paws wasn't helping, as she barely managed to keep hold with sticky on more than one occasion during the climb.

His light was quite blinding, and the heat was becoming unbearable; Mint couldn't just climb straight up into where Seir was resting, but she figured that she _could_ approach from one of his branches! She eyed one of the vines dangling from a branch that looked sturdy enough, and lept towards it, narrowly avoiding a spirit spike from Zar; she jumped again in mid-air and dashed the rest of the way over, grasping onto the vine just above the glittering container of light that glowed orange just like the light at the Spirit Tree's center. Mint frantically pulled herself up the vine, before finally pulling herself up onto the branch.

But her scramble upwards left her out of breath and with aching muscles, as she still had not yet fully recovered from the bloodloss. The very fact that she was able to make it this far was itself a miracle!

But her relatively slow pace had allowed Zar and the others to close the gap behind her. She hadn't made it more than halfway across the branch to Seir before Zar grappled her leg and tripped her. She flopped onto her face and stomach with a high-pitched "Oof!" as the breath was fully knocked from her lungs.

Mint tried to push herself up, but was too weak to do it in time. Zar materialized an arrow in his paw and used it to nail one of her hooves to the tree! He then grabbed her dome as she screamed in pain, lifting it before repeatedly slamming her face-down into the tree bark. When he finally stopped, her nose was broken and bleeding profusely. Mint could no longer rely on it to breath!

He lifted her head back up as she choked on her own sobs of pain, revealing a sizable hole in the tree bark. She reached up to her nostrils, feeling and seeing the blood from them on her paws as tears rolled down her face.

Mint's head was shoved back down onto one cheek. She started to cast her regeneration spell, but before she could, Zar snatched her trembling paw, interrupting the flow of energy.

"No! No pleas-AAAUGH!"

Pain shot through her paw like lightning as he snapped all her fingers into awkward angles! But before she could finish reeling from it, Zar reached down and broke her whole arm at the elbow.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she screeched.

Finally, before she could even think about using regenerate with her other arm, Zar violently whipped it backward, dislocating her shoulder-blade. The ensuing blood-curdling scream that came out of Mint's mouth soon became a low whine, ending as pitiful sobs. Her arms lay limp and useless upon her father's bark, her body stiff in fear and pain.

"Dad, help!" she cried helplessly at the glowing orb before her. "Please! Dad!"

Her voice was just above a whimper: weak, sad, and scared. It was just like the first vision she'd had of her father: she was broken, and the one who made her this way was closing-in from behind! Zar simply lifted her up by the antennae, bringing her to her knees and placing the blade of his spirit edge on her neck.

"He can't save you," he said, holding half of her face with his free paw. "In fact, I'm sure he'd want you dead!"

Mint shut her eyes, breathing terrified breaths.

"DAAAAAD!" she screamed.

Nothing. Absolutely no response from the spirit light. In that moment, Mint lost all hope. She now understood: she had wronged him. She didn't respect his legacy, and now she deserved to die.

"I should've done this myself the first time!" said Zar.

Mint felt her throat get sliced open. She was released onto the floor as blood was pumped out of her by her own racing heart. She felt him stab into her back a few more times for good measure, but her nerves had dulled by then and she couldn't feel much of the pain. Slowly, the light within her faded out, and she knew, this time, there was no one to save her.

_...I'm sorry, dad…_

The last thing she saw was the gentle fluttering of the leaves on her father's branches as the world faded to black.

 **.** **.** **.**

"Mint!" yelled Keo from below. "Miiiint! I'm coming! I'm-"

His body and mind all froze the moment he came to the top. In front of him was Zar standing over Mint's maimed and lifeless body.

"...Finally…" his Elder breathed.

"NOOO!" he shouted in anger, summoning a spirit spike and hurling it towards his Elder.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Zar summoned his own spike and collided it directly with Keo's. The resulting blast knocked Keo backwards into two other spirit guardians who had climbed up behind him. They held him back, despite his struggle against their grip.

"Keep hold of him!" Zar ordered. "He's next!"

"How could you do this?!" Keo yelled back. "HOW COULD YOU?!...She was your sister-"

" _Was_ my sister! She gave up that right when she betrayed us..."

He placed the tip of his spirit edge under Keo's chin.

"...and so did you," he growled. "When you decided to help her!"

Keo could barely hold back his tears. He had heard the struggle as he was climbing, but never expected Mint's final scream to truly be her last.

"You're a monster!" he choked.

Zar just shook his head.

"She was a traitor! I thought you understood that!"

He pointed behind him with his spirit edge.

"He understood!" he said. "If he truly wanted her alive, he would've stopped me! But he didn't!"

Then, with a forward flip of his sword, he took aim at Keo's head with it.

"And he won't stop me now."

Keo solemnly bowed his head and awaited his own slaughter, but the killing-strike never came. Instead, he heard one of the spirits holding him say, "What the-?"

"What?" said Zar, turning around. "What is it?"

Keo looked up as well to see a pair of black eyes with white pupils emerge from the glowing, orange orb past Zar. A glowing, white figure stepped out onto the bark, leaving everyone speechless.

However, the figure himself could find his voice immediately.

"I...am so...sorry," he spoke softly, eyes never wavering from Mint's mangled body. "It's all my fault."

He looked to be about Keo's age, about as tall too, though his ears were slightly longer and he had two antennae on his head instead of one. Yet, his voice sounded like that of a fully grown spirit, which was only slightly off-putting.

"Hey! Spirit!" Zar shouted commandingly. "Identify yourself!"

To everyone's surprise, he didn't reply, even seeming to ignore him! Instead he simply dropped to his knees before Mint.

"I could've stopped him," he went on, stuffing his teary eyes into his paws. "Why didn't I stop him?! Why couldn't I get out in time?!"

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Zar continued to shout. "Who are you?!"

"...I know I can still save you...but I didn't _want_ you to die..."

"Look at me!"

The unnamed spirit reached out and gently stroked the back of her head.

"...The first spirit I've ever touched in years...and she's dead…" he uttered sedately.

"I said LOOK AT ME!" Zar screamed, summoning a spirit spike and hurling it at him.

What happened next tore away Zar's ability to speak, leaving the one-eyed spirit frozen in his stance, stunned: the anonymous spirit actually _caught_ it! He had moved his head aside to snatch it with lightning-fast reflexes that most spirits could only dream of. Finally, he looked at Zar, eyes burning with rage, before standing and effortlessly twirling the spear around in his paw to point it back at Zar. The Elder was still so stunned that he wouldn't have been able to dodge it if it had been thrown his way! But to everyone's surprise, he didn't.

"I could kill you!" he shouted to Zar. "And I should for everything you've done...but I won't!"

With that, the unnamed spirit gripped the projectile in both paws and snapped it in half with his knee. It crackled and faded as he threw the pieces aside, leaving only his fists at his hips.

"Yeah?! And why's that?!" Zar finally said. "Are you a coward like them?!"

"No Zar," he replied, his voice shaky. "...It's because you're my son..."

Zar's eye widened in realization.

"F-fa-father?" he stammered.

"Ori!" Keo breathed in disbelief.

"...Who-Who's Ori-?"

"That was my name, Zar," said the figure. "But you wouldn't know that...because I never told you my story."


	18. The Untold Truth

Consciousness returning, Mint could feel the deep gash in her throat mend itself shut; she was on her knees now, with someone else's arms embracing her tightly. All the pain of her injuries hit at once like a boulder falling onto her, making her gasp the moment she could breathe again! But the intake of air was cut short when the pain made her throat lock-up.

"I'm here, Mint," a familiar voice said softly. "I'm right here."

A deep-rooted warmth filled her soul. The agony dissipated and she felt herself being healed; her dislocated arm painlessly popped back into place, her bones were fixed, all cuts and bruises were mended, and even though she couldn't feel it, her blood cells were replenished within her veins! Her arms had been hanging lifelessly by her side, but now she had the strength to hug him back. She hadn't just been healed: she had been restored!

Revived.

Even the blood and mud that was matting her fur to her skin had disappeared! The young spirit then pushed herself off of her healer, frantically grabbing at her neck and arms.

"Your body and mind are still convinced that you should be injured," the voice stated as a paw came to rest on her shoulder. "Don't worry...it's totally normal..."

Calming her movements, Mint gingerly placed her paw on his. This spirit, his voice was older, yet it was so familiar: he could only be one person.

"O-Ori?...Dad?" was all she could say as her eyes followed his arm all the way to his face.

As soon as they made eye-contact, he gave her a warm smile and nodded. Quiet murmurs could then be heard all around her, and she looked behind herself to see almost every spirit in Niwen hanging and sitting upon his branches, watching them intently. Turning back to her father, she saw Seir floating just behind him in the crotch of the tree, about as small as she was when Mint pulled her away a couple days ago.

"It's you," she breathed, reaching out and touching his face. "It's really you!"

Thinking about what he'd just told her, about why her brain still thought her body _should_ be hurting, Mint then gave Ori a sad and knowing expression as she finally found her words.

"You would know all too well," she said as her voice cracked and her face contorted. "Wouldn't you?"

Slowly, she broke into tears, and through wheezing sobs she hugged him, pressing her forehead into his chest.

"...I-I finally see you...but now all I can think about is your pain...you...you were just a baby…"

She felt him return the embrace

"I'm so sorry, dad!" she cried. "You went through so much ***sniff*** and-and I didn't respect that-"

"It's okay, Mint," Ori interrupted. "Really, it is! If anyone is to blame for anything, it's me."

He then held her out at arm's-length, his expression more forlorn.

"I witnessed the entire ordeal," he said. "Everything from when you left underground, right up until you died on my branch...Your suffering reminded me too much of my own. I should've known: in trying to teach you, my trauma simply became yours."

Mint started shaking her head and put a paw on his chest.

"Dad-" she started, before a frighteningly familiar voice spoke up to her right.

"Why save her?"

Mint looked over to see her one-eyed killer sitting beside her. She immediately flinched in fear.

"It's alright!" said Ori, still holding her shoulders. "He won't hurt you again. Right, Zar?"

He gave him a fierce parental look, which was odd considering how young he looked. He didn't look any older than Keo, yet was talking authoritatively to a fully-grown spirit!

"Yes father," said Zar. "But I still don't understand! She betrayed you!"

"No, Zar...I betrayed you."

"...What?..."

"I made a mistake, son. Just like my father did."

"B-but...how?" asked Mint. "And...how are you not a tree anymore?"

Ori looked over his shoulder.

"Seir?" he asked. "How much did you show her?"

"Bits and pieces," Seir replied. "The important parts, mainly."

He nodded solemnly as he turned towards Zar.

"Pay attention, son," he said. "It's time you learned as well."

Ori then took a deep breath and looked his daughter in the eye.

"First and foremost," he started. "I'm still a tree. What you're seeing is my consciousness manifested by the light into a physical, and more recognizable, form. I cannot stray too far away from Seir, or the forest will start decaying again. Secondly, the story you've all been told...is only partially correct."

More murmurs from the crowd.

"I am not the hero you think I am. The truth is: I am a very flawed person."

Louder, confused murmurs.

"In Nibel, the blindness really did happen, but not for the reason you think. A great owl named Kuro did steal away my father's light and eyes, but only because his light killed three of her four children by accident."

The younger spirits present all gasped, but from the adults...silence. Every adult spirit knew they'd used their light in a similar way, except on purpose.

"I didn't know it at the time, but as I was starving to death during the decay, I was the last spirit alive...my father had to use the last of his strength to revive me, but in bringing me back, he too gave me 'soul link': the power to come back from death. I could have never done what I did without it!...I did recover the light, named Sein, and together we did restore the three elements, but when the time came, when there was just one step more to take, I couldn't save the forest. Kuro snatched me out of the air, crushed every bone in my body, and tossed me to the floor like the pathetic pest I was to her! My soul link had been swallowed by lava, and I hadn't bothered to put a new one down..."

"...But then...how did you-?" started Zar.

"I shouldn't have!" Ori snapped.

Everyone was instantly taken aback; the spirits listening in from the surrounding branches could be heard releasing audible gasps. It was the last thing they expected him to say.

"I could have easily died for real _...right there!"_ he went on. "She was going to rip me apart just like all of my siblings...but in those final moments, my mother came and cradled my broken body...and the sight of that changed Kuro's heart...she flew the light back to my father, and the resounding power he and Sein used to bring the forest back from the brink burned her alive...no... _vaporized_ her whole!"

Zar was silent, almost in shock at what he was hearing.

"Kuro saved Nibel in the end...not me! In the end, a creature of the dark sacrificed herself for the greater good...not me."

"...Who...who was your mother?" asked Zar.

"Her name was Naru, and she was also a creature of the dark."

"What?! You were raised by a lightless creature?!"

"Animals without the light within them are not a bad thing, Zar! Without the dark, light would have no reason to exist."

Ori paused to let that sink in, before continuing his story.

"Kuro sacrificed herself to save her last child. She was orphaned, like I was. We were obligated to take her in."

"What do you mean, 'you were orphaned'?" asked Mint.

"My leaf was blown away by a great storm. When I was born, I was born in front of Naru, not in front of my father or any other spirit. In an effort to find me, he lit the skies ablaze with his light...and because he called out to me, Kuro's children perished in his light."

Mint could only place a paw on her forehead in disbelief.

"I have died hundreds of times, and every time I got back to my hooves, but the guilt I felt when I witnessed that memory...was unbearable…"

"That's why you felt so guilty," said Mint. "But...but it wasn't your fault!"

"I know...but at the time it truly felt like the forest was dying, and everyone: the spirits, the Gumon, and my mother were all dead...all simply because I existed."

Mint's paws came to rest as fists on her mouth. She wouldn't exist if it wasn't for him, and now here he was, telling her that, at one point, he truly wished he was never born!

"The blindness happened because my father was irresponsible with the light," said Ori. "Not because Kuro was evil."

"...The very being I thought to be the villain," Zar started. "...Was the hero this whole time?..."

Ori nodded.

"And not only that but, in a way she was the reason I came to Niwen, too. Remember when I said we took in Kuro's last child?"

Mint and Zar both nodded, the one-eyed spirit holding a look of curiosity.

"She hatched only a few days later. We named her Ku, and she was my best friend. One of her wings was deformed during development because of what my father did. For years, all she wanted to do was fly...it was in her nature after all, as an owl. We had no clue what to do about it for the longest time, until I remembered her mother's feather. It was a bang-up job, but a Gumon that I'd befriended managed to tie it to her wing."

A smile came to his face as he momentarily broke eye-contact.

"To this day, I'm still not sure how Gumo got it to work, but she could finally fly! I rode with her because I promised Naru I'd keep her safe, and I didn't think she'd have the endurance to soar like she did, but boy did we...I got to see everything again, every place I'd struggled through during the blindness, all from up high; we even saw my father and his newborn spirits down below...if only I knew…"

"Knew what?" asked Zar.

"That it'd be the last time...the last time I'd ever see home…well, my _original_ home...not that this isn't one."

Zar furrowed his brow, before obtaining the shocked look of realization.

"No," he said. "She-?...across the water-?...she flew you all the way?"

"...All the way...I'll be honest: I'm no boat-builder, and you can clearly see I don't have wings!"

"But...you said this was only meant to be a 'more recognizable form'?"

"No, not just: what you're seeing is how I looked right before merging with Seir."

He looked behind himself again.

"I'd say I got it pretty accurate," he said to the spirit light. "What do you think? Did I miss anything?"

"You've lived in that body longer than I've seen you," she replied. "You would know better than I."

Ori just gave an amused huff as he turned his head back around.

"She hates it when I do this," he said in a lower voice.

Seir's light flickered momentarily, suggesting that was her version of an eye-roll.

"Only because it means I need to pick up most of the slack!" she said.

"You've done it before?" asked Mint.

"Only once," Ori replied, his expression aloof. "When I said goodbye to Ku."

Any amusement Mint was feeling quickly faded when he said that: becoming a tree must have meant having to outlive his companion.

"I got to say goodbye to all of them, and for that I am forever grateful," he went on. "But only for Ku did I do this; it was only fitting, as none of this would've happened if it wasn't for her."

He took a brief moment of silence as he remembered their final moment together. Then he raised a finger, wordlessly indicating that he was ready to move on with his story.

"The Spirit Willow that used to preside over this land," he said. "You are all aware of what happened when she died of old age?"

"Yes, father," said Zar. "She...Seir...broke into exactly five pieces...wisps...and each was scattered throughout the forest."

"Indeed, but where the story goes wrong is...well, I didn't gather the wisps to save the forest...I gathered them to save Ku."

As disgruntled murmurs erupted from the crowd, the demeanor of both Mint and Zar became visibly dejected.

"Undoubtedly, that must be hard to hear-"

"Huh, yeah!" said Zar with mild anger. "Undoubtedly."

Ori sensed his indignance, replying accordingly.

"Believers are in groups, Zar," he started. "But seekers are alone...they walk the uncomfortable path in order to find the truth."

He shifted his weight in his sitting position to turn more towards the one-eyed spirit.

"So tell me, son...are you content to _believe_ the same story, told hundreds of times removed from an observer of my deeds? Or do you _seek_ the true story, told from the horse's mouth?"

Zar sighed in frustration and crossed his arms.

"I'm a seeker, father," he said a moment later. "Or else I wouldn't still be sitting here."

Ori just smiled and nodded, content with that answer.

"I collected all five wisps, with the help of some other lightless creatures," he continued. "Namely the moki and a grand toad named Kwolok, the latter of which gave his life to get me one in particular."

His expression became grave, as though unsure of whether to say what he was about to say.

"A foul presence, a monster of the decay, corrupted his mind and made him swallow it," he said. "To get to it...I was forced to kill him."

Again, his expression became distant as he grabbed his mouth with a paw.

"I wish there had been another way," was all he said after some time.

The more his father spoke, the more Zar understood just how much any life mattered to him, whether it be of the light or not. Mint however, was coming to a realization of her own: now was her time to confirm something she had been wondering ever since she'd witnessed Ori's transformation in memory.

"Dad?" she started. "Did you ever care about...us?"

"...No…"

She wasn't sure if she wanted to feel relieved or heartbroken.

"I warned you it might hurt," he said before continuing the story. "I did all of it for Ku...all of it. Again, I gathered the wisps to save her life. A deformed owl had nearly killed her in front of me, and I was told that bringing all five together would be enough to fully heal her!"

"Whoa, wait," said Zar. "Who was this, 'deformed owl'?"

Another pause from Ori.

"They called her, 'Shriek'," he started. "Because her scream would tear into your very soul...particularly mine."

He reached up and felt his projected antennae, the body-part of spirit guardians that could feel the auras of other creatures.

"Her aura emanated pain...so much so that her very presence could bring you to tears if she was around long enough. She nearly killed Ku the first time she attacked us; I'd finally reunited with my friend after being separated by the storm, and honestly, my plan from the beginning was to regroup with her and then _leave._ Just go back home and forget any of this had ever happened…but it wasn't meant to be...we were never gunna make it out of the Silent Woods without Shriek noticing...I encountered her a few more times on my journey, the last time being after I'd pieced Seir back together and brought her to the Spirit Willow. I'd just been told by the ghost of the old tree that...that I'd have to take her place...and..."

"And as I was floating back to him, Shriek snatched me away," Seir finished.

"Of course she struck then, you know? Of course she would!...Of course she would make an already painful process even more painful!...I don't know how I managed to fight her, with all the emotions...both from her aura and from me having to come to terms with never going home, but...there was no other way...no other way to save Ku's life…at first, I didn't understand why the darkness had consumed her in the way it had...why she hated Ku so much...but then I found out from Baur why...it was _because_ she was an owl...a non-deformed owl..."

"...Baur?" said Mint. "As in-?"

" _The_ Baur," Ori answered. "The great bear that Baur's Reach is named after? Yeah, I met him…"

Ori shifted his weight again with emotional discomfort.

"He told me...that Shriek was born to dead parents," he started. "And she was born deformed, an 'ugly duckling'. The other owls rejected her, and she grew up alone, unloved...hated...through no fault of her own. Just as I fought the forces of decay, she fought the forces of light. Her story almost paralleled mine, in that, through no fault of my own, I became helpless to save my mother from starvation and was thrust into a life of repeated deaths. Coming to Niwen was just more of the same: being helpless to protect my adopted sister, even though I'd promised Naru I would, and again dying over, and over, and over again in order to save her...I grew irritable, yelling at moki and other creatures in rage even though they did nothing to deserve my harsh words...Outwardly, our battle was the ultimate light versus the ultimate dark..."

For the first time since appearing, he shed a tear.

"...but on the inside...we were exactly the same...we were both...broken people...I hated having to kill her…"

He wiped his tears away.

"A real hero would've found a way to heal her," he lamented. "But how could I have ever done that...when I'd never really healed myself?"

When he finished, no one spoke. There were no other words to describe such a tragedy. The stillness from all spirits was oddly comforting though, as Ori again readjusted his posture.

"The reason I grew here, the reason I _came_ here, was all thanks to creatures of the dark," he said, breaking the silence. "Kuro, Naru, Gumo, Ku, they were all lightless...and they're the reason we're here today. We need each other, Zar!"

"But then...what _is_ our purpose, father?" Zar asked. "If it's not to protect you from them?"

Mint looked at her Elder in astonishment.

"That's the same question I've had this whole time!" she said. "Dad? Are we...are we aliens?"

"Huh?" said Zar. "Where did that come fro-?"

"It was something discussed with Motay's son not too long ago," Ori interrupted. "And...it's not entirely untrue."

Zar put his paws up to his temples.

"I have so many questions," was all he could say.

"Undoubtedly," Ori replied.

"Who...is Motay?"

"A chameleon I met shortly after arriving in Niwen. I'm still not sure how, but he could see and record everything I ever did since arriving."

Zar gained a quizzical look, while Ori just turned to Mint.

"Did his son ever tell you-?"

"No," said Mint, shaking her head.

Ori just gave a mildly frustrated snap of his fingers.

"Right, I remember," he said. "Trade secret, was it? That's what he said, right?"

Mint nodded.

"Yeah," said her father. "See? Not even I have all the answers, ok?"

"...Well, can you at least answer the whole...aliens thing?" Zar repeated, gesturing to Mint.

Ori just looked down at his own tree bark and started tracing shapes on it with a finger, deep in thought as to how to answer that question.

"The truth is...more complicated than that," he said finally. "But...I'll start by telling you...that Motay couldn't see everything."

 **.** **.** **.**

In a flash of light, a floating ball of orange glow appeared on a hill of grass and flowers. Simultaneously, a lone guardian spirit fell out of the air next to her, landing on his paws and knees.

"Uhh...Seir?" said Ori. "Where are we?"

"In a meadow far beyond Niwen," Seir replied. "A place where nature grows on its own, without any spirit light."

"What?!"

"Yes, even after decades of decay, the planet will still figure out what to do on its own."

"Then...what's the point? Why do you and I exist?"

"Because, Ori, our purpose is far beyond preventing and fixing decay. Long ago, an intelligent animal species evolved on this world and nearly consumed it whole."

"Consumed? How do you mean?"

"They created weapons...weapons far more powerful than anything you could ever wield yourself...weapons capable of destruction beyond your comprehension...destruction worse than any decay you have ever witnessed!"

"...And...they used them...on each other?..."

"Yes, and even if they hadn't, they would have stripped this world of everything it had to offer until there was nothing left...until they starved themselves to extinction, leaving behind a barren world."

An air of sadness hung in Seir's voice when she said that, despair so extreme that Ori's antennae felt drowned in it. He knew in that moment that Seir had likely witnessed it herself at some point, being the immortal being that she was. He thought it best to not ask for details.

"When left to its own devices," she continued. "Nature grows, yes, but it grows unbalanced. We intervened only after the last of their kind had killed themselves off, saving the planet and beginning a new chapter in its life."

Ori looked up at the glowing, orange orb of light.

"Something you may have to do with Niwen, once we return," she finished.

"Me?" asked Ori.

"The Spirit Willow may be too old to carry my light, Ori, but if it comes to that, more will be explained. For now, we must return."

 **.** **.** **.**

"The light is not native to this world," said Ori. "But we are. This is our home!"

He got to his knees and reached forward, placing a paw on both of their shoulders.

"The first spirit guardians were made from the light itself, since there were no trees," Ori explained. "They gave us the legs of deer, the paws and ears of bunnies, and the head and tail of wildcats. Animals that represented peace and warmth, we were made in their image."

Pulling his paws away, he noticed the look of realization and acceptance on Zar's face, and how it contrasted with Mint's continued look of sadness and confusion.

"How come you never said anything to us, dad?" Mint asked finally, meeting her father's eyes. "Why did you never tell us about any of this?"

Ori took in a long and arduous breath.

"Well, to be honest, I wasn't entirely present," he started. "Some years after I became a Spirit Tree, I discovered something: a kind of...oneness...with the universe. Any and all attachment I had with the world, past, present, and future, all just...fell away, like it never mattered."

Both Mint and Zar held confused looks.

"It's not that any of you didn't matter," Ori explained. "It's just...it's hard to put into words...imagine everything that exists, even down to the very thoughts in your head, was the same thing the entire time."

"What thing?" asked Zar.

"I don't know...some kind of inexplicable energy...an energy upon which things are allowed to exist, the substratum of the universe...existence itself...my true self...our true selves...for a time, I was one with it...come to think of it, I still am."

"Like, you were in some kind of trance?" asked Mint.

"...Almost…I learned something during that time: all my pain, all of my emotional turmoil, I was doing it to myself..."

"What do you mean?"

"Pain is a very normal thing to feel; it's your body's way of telling you that something's wrong, but suffering...is a choice. I was too young and naive to understand it during the blindness, and when I came to Niwen, but the whole time, the choice to feel happy, or sad, or angry...was always mine. Nothing outside of me was making me feel those emotions. I was doing it to myself!"

He paused to let that sink in.

"I thought to myself, I just wanted to be happy, but I never asked why," he went on. "When I became one with the substratum, what I realized was that I was simply in tune with my true nature...our true nature...joy. Our true nature is _joy._ It makes sense because any time you deviate from that feeling, don't you just wanna go back?"

Zar and Mint both nodded.

"Why go back if it isn't your true nature?" Ori finished with a smile. "So...I guess you could call it a trance...who would want to leave?"

"What shook you from it?" asked Mint.

"Well Mint, you did...when you pulled Seir away…"

Mint gasped at the realization.

"Did...did I hurt you?" she asked.

"No," Ori replied. "I was just a little shook, is all. But it _did_ bring me back to the present, and what I woke up to was…"

Another pause. Another deep breath.

"...was, concerning, to say the least…although firstly, I have to mention how talented my children are: you all can regenerate wounds, double-jump, dash, bash, grapple, and use at least one weapon all before you're even six months old! Not even the spirits of Nibel before my time were that adept...I couldn't be more proud! But secondly, and more importantly, is what you were using your talents for: murdering the very creatures you all were meant to protect; living things that were never your enemy! That's why my light appeared faded to you yesterday."

Zar momentarily broke eye-contact in guilt as Ori shifted his weight again.

"I've blamed myself for many things, some of which you now understand was out of my control, but this time, I truly am to blame. Thousands of innocent lives could have been saved if I had just been present. I would've taught you, Zar, you and all the others!"

He stood up and addressed the entire gathering.

"I would've taught all of you!...That light and dark are meant to exist together, in harmony. Be proud of yourselves, but not so proud that others aren't meant to exist in Niwen!"

His voice softened.

"It was in my nature to forgive, be kind, and not _want_ to kill, but I should have never assumed you would all be the same! Now the Moki, the shard merchants, the Gorlek, the chameleons, and all of the other forest's inhabitants fear us!...And rightfully so! In our paws is the most awesome power in the universe, and they all fear it because it can burn innocents! It has in the past...in my time...and now it's happening again because I never told you why...why you should be responsible with it!...Are we the most superior beings on the planet? Yes...but our purpose was never to dominate! Far from it...we are meant to guard the _balance,_ not ourselves!"

He then looked down at himself, both at his bark and his projected paws.

"If only I knew my true importance in it all, I'd have forgiven my father long ago. Because of his mistake, because of his ignorance, and how he went about trying to make up for it afterwards, I couldn't even bring myself to be around him! Despite the fact that I'd saved the forest, just his presence only reminded me of our power to destroy life, how dangerous we can be...and it made me sick...but, upon becoming a Spirit Tree myself, I was able to communicate with my father from all the way across the sea...it was then that we finally made up our differences...and when he told me he loved me, I could finally say the same thing back."

Finally, he looked at Mint.

"And that wasn't all...he told me that, other than the guilt of indirectly causing my first death, there was another reason he saved me...a reason why he tried to call out to me so directly."

He placed both paws on Mint's shoulders.

"He saw something in me, Mint," he continued. "And it's the same thing I see in you."

Mint's eyes widened, realizing what he was going to say before he even said it.

"You are destined to be the next Spirit Willow," said Ori.

"Wha-?! I-I...me?!...Why?"

"Because, Mint: you were curious, steadfast, and most importantly you could _sympathize._ You listened to a creature of the dark, and through her you saw that something was wrong when no one else could. Then you took a risk, sought the truth, and nothing could stop you! These were qualities that my father saw in me, and why he so desperately wanted me to know who I was!"

He then smiled at both her and Zar.

"I suppose then," he started. "That all mistakes are just destiny at work!"

Zar could only sheepishly place a paw on his neck.

"I...I killed...a Spirit Willow?" he said nervously.

"You couldn't have known," said Ori. "Again, it's more my fault than any of yours."

Zar and Mint met each other's eyes, and for a moment neither of them could say anything. She could see it in his singular eye: the true weight of all his sins were finally crashing down upon him, all at once!

"Zar-" Mint started.

"I outcast you," he interrupted, briefly looking back at Ori. "And killed so many innocents in your name!"

He then looked at the bark under himself, refusing to look either spirit in the eye.

"I killed both you and the one you love," he said to Mint. "I could say I'm sorry, but...but I don't deserve your forgiveness!"

He then stood up to leave, but then stopped in his tracks upon turning around, for another Elder had landed on the branch behind them.

"Issen?!" said Zar.

"You killed hundreds...and made every creature in Niwen hate us," she said coldly. "All behind my back…"

"Wait, you-?" Mint started.

"No, Mint. I and the other Elders were never in on it. It was only ever Zar."

The one-eyed spirit, now in the middle of it all, had never looked or felt so guilty in his life.

"...Why?..." asked Issen, shedding a tear.

Zar dropped to his knees, practically shaking with emotion.

"...I messed up, okay?" he started. "I just wanted to lead like you...It wasn't fair that you were our leader just because you were born first and I second...and…"

He hadn't cried in a long time, partly because he was afraid of what his empty eye-socket would do if he did, but now not even that fear could hold him back. He let out a sob as tears came out of one eye, and soaked the leaf covering the other until it couldn't absorb any more.

"...and when I lost my eye to those howlers...and when I heard Ori's story for the first time all those years ago...you can't blame me for coming to the conclusion I came to…"

Issen came over and held his head in her paws as tears even began to leak from his nose.

"Please...please, you can't blame me-"

"No one blames you, Zar," said Ori. "And no one should ever have to go through what you went through...especially as a mere child...believe me, I would know."

Zar looked behind him at his father, head still pressed onto Issen's stomach.

"But I'm living proof that you can rise above!" he continued, physically standing and approaching him. "You are greater than your experiences, and you are more than just some crazed zealot! You can be better, Zar."

He reached out and placed a projected paw on his son's back.

"If anyone deserves a shot at redemption, it's you."

Zar reached over and placed his own paw atop Ori's, feeling his warmth, his forgiveness.

"You were never very good at apologizing," said Issen. "But I can also tell that you mean to. You are still an Elder...and just because you're second-born doesn't mean the spirits don't look up to you!"

The one-eyed spirit remained silent, and Mint knew exactly why. Without a word, she shuffled over to Zar and hugged him tightly.

"I forgive you," she said softly. "Fir isn't gone because of you...he's gone because our circumstances were just the worst that they could possibly be...so I forgive you..."

"I...I'm sorry!" Zar sobbed.

"...It's okay..."

A long silence passed as he let out all his emotions, until finally, a lone spirit on a nearby branch spoke up.

"Hey! If we could all fit on that branch, we'd hug you too!" shouted Keo.

"Agreed!" said another spirit. "We still respect you, brother!"

A cacophony of supportive murmurs from the crowd grew until every spirit around them was clapping, cheering for their Elder, helping him understand that he could turn a new leaf, and that they were all there for him.

For their eldest brother.

"I'm glad we're all in accordance!" Ori said softly as the cheering died down. "You wouldn't be a child of _mine_ if you didn't have the capacity to improve!...Though, Mint? There is one more thing to mention."

"What?" she asked.

"When you absorbed Seir's light, you were inspirited."

"...What does that mean?"

"It means that in that moment, you not only gained my powers, but you also gained a power that only future Spirit Trees can wield."

He didn't have to say it, for Mint already knew exactly what he was talking about. There was no way to guarantee the continuation of their species without it!

"Face me," he said. "And hold out your paw."

All eyes once more fell onto the two of them. Mint stood and faced her kneeling father as he'd asked, before holding out her paw and spreading her fingers. The look on her face grew skeptical. She was unsure if she really could do it, but Ori held his own arms out in front of him, nodding encouragingly.

"Take a deep breath, and focus," he instructed. "Focus on where you want it to be. For now, just try putting it down right in-between the two of us."

Mint nodded and breathed in, concentrating on the spot on the branch just in front of her. At first, nothing happened. She knew what it was supposed to look like: a heatless, but reassuring blue flame, like a campfire, but nothing at all was appearing.

"Now breathe out to place it," Ori finished. "Gently."

Slowly, the young spirit exhaled, and the flame appeared before her. Though, when it did, everyone couldn't help but notice something...unique...about it.

"Pink," Ori said flatly before grinning. "It suits you."

Mint looked at her palm, then back at Ori.

"I-I could do it the whole time?" she asked.

Her father simply smiled and nodded.

"And yet, you never needed to," he told her. "You should be very proud of yourself."

Mint remained quiet as the implications of this revelation slowly crept into her mind.

"Seir tells me that normally, there'd be a grand and joyous celebration whenever it was announced who would be the next Spirit Tree," said Ori. "Unfortunately, such an event could never happen for me, since more importance was placed on rebuilding our society in Nibel than my coronation...not to mention that my father no doubt thought that I had plenty to worry about already, both with raising Ku and trying to recover from all the mental trauma. Though, for you, I think festivities can certainly be arranged!"

"Does...does this mean I have to replace you?" Mint asked tentatively.

"No, no! I've still got a few centuries left in me!" Ori chuckled. "The time will come when I'll need an heir, but that is not today...You must find your own light to merge with, Mint."

"In...in the Dark Forest?...and right now?!"

"It could be in the Dark Forest, _or_ in someplace entirely unknown, and no, it doesn't need to happen right now, but knowing what I've told you, I believe you will understand when the time is right."

Mint's eyes welled-up with tears. She wasn't sure if it was because her life would never be the same, because she might not ever see her father's physical form ever again after this, or even because she still wasn't sure if Fir could ever come back, but all she knew was that her emotions just needed to go _somewhere._ She felt willed to do _something,_ and she knew exactly what: without another word, the young spirit walked through the pink, heatless flames, knelt down, and gave her father's projection one last hug, warm and tight.

"You're still a hero to me, dad," said Mint. "You may not have saved everyone, but you still managed to save the forest and your family...and us...thank you…"

She felt him hug back as tears of joy began to trickle down his cheek.

"I missed you, dad," she said. "I know that doesn't really make sense, since I've never been in contact with you before, but...I missed you."

"Don't you worry," said Ori. "This time, for my new family, I won't be going anywhere. I'm not certain what the future holds for you...but if there's one thing I know...it's that I love you, Mint...with all my heart."

Then the two of them nuzzled each other, until finally Mint could bring herself to wipe a few tears away.

"...I love you too, dad," she said.

 **.** **.** **.**

**A/N: I should have clarified earlier on that Zar belongs to seasongray on deviantart, and I was using omegapainter's drawing of him for inspiration on my own version of his personality; the leaf eyepatch in omegapainter's version drove a visual narrative for me that I wanted to use for a kind of villain-redemption story arc.**

**I've been trying to connect with seasongray, but the last time he used deviantart was way back in 2016; he also didn't have any other contact info listed on his profile, so sending him a note and waiting is the best I can do, unfortunately.**

**In any case, I hope you all still enjoyed the chapter, and I hope that it's understood that Zar really isn't THAT big of a jerk: he was simply ignorant of the facts, doing what he thought was best for his father, the forest, and his own kind! ;)**


	19. Epilogue

_On the day that we first heard him speak, he recounted his story to us. Come close now and listen, brothers and sisters, to the tale of our father. The tale of our great Spirit Tree._

_In a land far across the sea, named Nibel, another spirit tree lived, and from him our father fell. His leaf was lost to a great storm, where it would land before a lightless creature named Naru. This creature, though alien to his very being, would raise him like a child of her own with love and kindness. It was thanks to her that when disaster struck, he was ready._

_His father, in an effort to call out to him, in an effort to find him, lit the skies ablaze with his power, unknowingly killing three innocent owlets in a distant cave upon Mount Forlorn. Their mother, Kuro, enraged by the tree's irresponsible act, assaulted the light ceremony, killing thousands of our father's siblings. In her final act of revenge, she ripped away Sein, the tree's light and eyes, flying her far away where she would crush her and toss her away, leaving our father's civilization in ruins._

_This period of time in Nibel is known simply as: the blindness, not just because the old Spirit Tree lost his eyes, but because both he and Kuro were blinded by their love for their children._

_The ensuing decay would starve Naru to death, leaving our father weak and alone. As he stumbled and fell through the dying forest, he was the last spirit alive. Lost in grief for his mother and having never known any of his now deceased siblings, he passed away on a log in front of his father at just three months of age. The very being who only wanted his son back, now watched helplessly as his child died before him; so it was, in a final act of atonement, the tree gave the last of his strength and energy to revive our father, inspiriting him and endowing him with soul link: the power to come back from death._

_With his new life and newfound power, our father found Sein and restored the three elements of Nibel: water, winds, and warmth. The journey was perilous, and he perished many, many times, but in the end he did all the legwork necessary to bring Nibel back from the brink!_

_The final step however, would not be his to complete. As he floated back to his father, ready to replace Sein in her rightful place atop his father's trunk, Kuro struck one final time. The baby spirit was mortally injured, and the great owl, massive and enraged, wanted nothing more than to end his journey right then and there! But just as all hope seemed lost, Naru arrived just in time to cradle her adopted son. This very act of affection awakened Kuro from her fury, and for the first time, she saw that her actions weren't just killing the forest, but her final, unhatched owlet child as well._

_In the end, it was a creature devoid of light who would put Sein back, in fact the very same creature who had first ripped her away, proving that all creatures have the capacity for good, if given the chance._

_Forever indebted to her sacrifice, our father, Naru, and a befriended Gumon would raise Kuro's last child, giving her the home she otherwise would've never had, but the damage had already been done. They named her Ku, and she grew up with a defective wing because of what grandfather did. Through the brilliance of the Gumon, they were able to work around it, using one of Kuro's feathers to allow Ku's wing to work, and when she flew, she soared! With our father on her back, she flew so much farther than any of them ever thought she could go._

_In fact, she flew him all the way across the water to a new land, a land where an ancient spirit willow had died, leaving its light broken and scattered. The resulting decay had brought a violent storm that night, one that would separate Ku from our father and their feather, leaving her to fend for herself in a dangerous wilderness! Through more deadly trials, father was able to reunite with Ku, but was unable to stop a terribly deformed owl from hurting her! That owl's name was Shriek, and she had left Ku mortally wounded._

_Father, so distraught by his failure to keep her safe, would lash out at innocent, lightless creatures that only meant to help him. But so determined was he to save his sister's life, he pieced the ancient willow's light back together, and after unfortunately having to kill Shriek at the end of his journey, our father merged with the light, saving his sister's life, giving her a new wing, and restoring the forest by becoming a Spirit Tree himself._

_Yes, the light he'd pieced together was indeed Seir...and the forest he'd saved was indeed Niwen, your home. Through fear, failure, and unimaginable pain...our father persevered._

_Never forget, my siblings, never forget: though he was born of light, he sacrificed his old life for a creature with none. He did it so that all creatures could live together in harmony. We spirits protect the balance of nature, but it was the beings of the dark who got us here. We must work and train so that no creature ever has to suffer in decay ever again! For his legacy...when his name was Ori..._

**. . .**

The party had gone on well into the night.

The festival took place beneath the Spirit Tree as he watched from high above, and the whole rest of the day had been spent setting up for it. Spirits sang, danced to music, and ate the most gourmet fruits and vegetables that could be served, but ironically, the one spirit for whom it was all for was the saddest of them all. She sat alone at her table, refusing to get up and join the others...and no one could blame her.

Her life was never going to be the same, and they were all quietly aware.

Wearing a ceremonial wreath atop her head, one adorned with every color of flower that could be found, she aimlessly traced lines on the table until she became aware of approaching hoofsteps. She looked up from her untouched food, half-hoping that it was Fir, but instead seeing that it was the one-eyed spirit once more.

"This is the fifth time, Zar," she said dejectedly. "You don't have to say sorry again."

"I know," he replied. "And it's not that...I...I came to let you know that I'll be going away for a while."

The young spirit was shocked, but also unsurprised.

"What?! Why?!" she said, even though she knew the answer. "You-you don't have to-!"

"Yes I do," he interrupted. "I need...I need to find myself again...figure things out…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I...I can't just...forgive myself right away...not after everything I've done..."

Mint could only silently stare back, meeting his sorrowful gaze with her own.

"I just need to be alone for a little while," he finished. "...Just thought I'd let you know…"

With that, he went around the table and past Mint, walking away from the party, to which Mint reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Wait! Zar!" she said as she stopped him. "You-you can't go! Niwen needs you! I- _I_ need you!"

"Mint, it's my decision," said Zar. "Please...at least let me start making the right ones!"

She shook her head in dismay, but he was right: he had to start rewiring his brain somehow, and at the very least he was conscientious enough to want to take the first step. Though Niwen needed him, he knew he wouldn't be of good service until he'd served himself. The young spirit then wordlessly released his arm and listened as his hoofsteps grew softer and softer.

"Hey, Zar!" Mint called, turning around in her chair.

Her Elder stopped momentarily to look back at her.

"Good luck," she said.

Zar then did something she rarely ever saw him do: he smiled...then gave a quick nod before turning and disappearing into the night. Mint then turned back around and stared blankly at the food in front of her; it was a large leaf with dozens of plump, ripe fruit and crispy veggies: something that would normally be quite mouth-watering, but even though she hadn't eaten all day, she wasn't hungry. Mint slowly pushed the leaf away from herself before slumping in her chair and staring up at the stars.

_Darling, you really should dance with someone._

The voice sounded like it was coming from all directions, much like it had when she'd spoken to Seir. It was deep as well, sounding large and in-charge.

_Perhaps that will take your mind off of things?_

"How, dad?" she moaned, still staring at the night sky. "How could anything ever take my mind off of things at this point?"

_Well, my special little girl certainly can't spend her own party like this!_

"I know...but...I don't really feel like dancing anyway...not since he's gone…"

_Are you sure about that?_

"Sure about what?"

Suddenly, a very familiar voice could be heard in the crowd.

"Hello?"

Mint instantly tore her eyes away from the stars, frantically scanning the large gathering of spirits.

"Excuse me, but...what's going on?" the voice continued.

"Fir!" Mint breathed.

She practically stumbled out of her chair and ran towards the center of the festival, but before she could even get halfway between the crowd and her table, the spirits parted, revealing his very confused form.

Confused...but alive!

It didn't take long before his eyes met hers, and for a moment they just stared at each other, speechless for different reasons.

"Mint?" he said finally.

Slowly, they began to approach each other as though entranced.

"Are we?..." he went on. "Are we both...dead?"

With tears of joy beginning to trickle from her eyes and a grin starting to extend across her face, Mint simply shook her head.

"No," she half-sobbed, taking the wreath off her head and dropping it behind her. "We're both very much alive!"

Then, the two of them spinted into each other's arms. Fir swung her around once before kissing her in front of everybody; Mint lifted one of her legs as she kissed back, and in response, everyone cheered! Finally, they opted to simply place their foreheads together while shedding merry tears.

"I thought I'd lost you!" Mint breathed.

"I thought I'd lost me, too!" Fir replied. "Zar...I just didn't want him to hurt you!...did...did he?"

"No...I mean, yes! But-oh there's so much that you haven't been told! So much that you missed!"

"Are you alright? And how am I alive?! I'm glad that I am, but how?!"

_Patience my son. Soon, you will understand._

Fir whipped his head around and donned a look of fear.

"Who said that?" he asked out loud.

Mint pointed up at the Spirit Tree.

"Dad?!" said Fir. "You can talk?!"

_Always could have._

"...You did this?..."

_Yes. It was difficult, given how far away you were, but not impossible._

"How come you didn't tell me earlier?" asked Mint.

_I just wanted it to be a surprise._

"...Why is there a...a party right now?..." asked Fir.

_Well...it's for her coronation!_

"Coronation?"

"Hey everyone!" called Yaiger from the crowd. "Let's hear it for Fir and the Spirit Willow!"

As everyone cheered, Fir's instructor walked over to the two of them.

"Didn't know you had such good taste, Fir!" whispered Hito into his ear as he passed by.

It took Fir a moment to process what he'd just heard, but eventually he was able to articulate what he was thinking.

"I...bonded with a Spirit Willow?!"

Mint could only giggle.

"You look so cute when you're surprised!" she said. "But...yeah...Look, we'll go sit someplace and I'll tell you everything! Just know that everything's gunna be okay."

Fir kept to his stunned silence, but she could tell that he couldn't be happier.

"For now, let's just enjoy the party, you silly goose!" she said as she pulled him towards the buffet. "C'mon! You must be starving!"

** THE END **

**. . .**

** Theoretical Voice-Acting Cast (in order of appearance): **

Mint: Rachell Hofstetter

Fir: Dave Franco

Keo: Dylan O'Brien

Shard Merchants: Jay Preston

Gorlek Builder: Patrick Seitz

Hito: Donnie Yen

Zar: Dermot Mulroney

Issen: Mireille Enos

Yaiger: Jason Bateman

Quito: Ginnifer Goodwin

Seir and Sein: Aeralie Brighton

Taeguk: Karl Urban (American accent)

Shikun: Florence Kasumba

Moki: Tiana Camacho

Timo: Robin Atkin Downes

Ori: Nolan North

Ori (Spirit Tree): Erik Braa


End file.
